


Dogma Chronicles

by deme_lu



Series: Dogma Chronicles [1]
Category: the GazettE (Band)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bodyguard/bard Tora, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Curses, Drama & Romance, Druid Kai, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Epic Battles, Fantasy AU, Fluff and Angst, Great Mage Uruha, High Priest Ruki, Love at First Sight, M/M, Magic, Minor Character Death, Physical Abuse, Prince Reita, Royalty, Slow Burn, Telepathy, at least I hope, breaking rules, prince Aoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:47:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 44,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23597089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deme_lu/pseuds/deme_lu
Summary: Dogma's Covens were once a respectable and powerful magic society.However its High Priests fanatism and greed had jeopardized the place the Covens held in society, leaving their whole institutions moribund.Under the influence of new young mages, whose aim was to make the Covens reborn and to give another chance to Dogma, the cult is finally given another chance to find its place back in society, next to the rulers of the country.During these peaceful times of renewal and hope, Prince Reita Suzuki, gets caught in a bloody ambush with his soldiers. His squad is mercilessly slaughtered and he is brought to the neighbour realm as a prisonner, severely injured and barely alive.Why did the new young King of this land command this attack ? Who are these mages taking care of him and why are they living here ? Are they indeed taking care of him for his own sake or do they have ulterior motives ? Why does they seem to be more than what they let him believe ? What's exactly going on in this Castle ?He doesn't know it yet, but Reita's world is about to be turned upside down, and he will have to learn many things before he understands what he has to do, and whose hands he can put his life and heart in.
Relationships: Aoi/Uruha (the GazettE), Kai (the GazettE)/Tora (Alice Nine), Reita/OC, Reita/Ruki (the GazettE)
Series: Dogma Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698574
Comments: 49
Kudos: 38





	1. Dogma Chronicles: The White Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> As promised, here is the first chapter of my new fic. I woke up with the whole plot one morning and I had to write it obviously. It's a fantasy AU, thing I never dared to try until now, but with a bit of luck the love I have for the genre will be enough for me to make it right?
> 
> For information, I imagined High Priest Ruki with the Undying look, Princes Reita and Aoi with the 15th anniversary look, Kai with Dogma look, Uruha in Abyss look and Tora, well, just imagine him as a hot and sweet warrior^^.
> 
> Enjoy?

Reita's head was hurting like hell, and his whole body was screaming in pain.

He tried to open his eyes to no avail, it was much too difficult, he felt too weak. He shuddered violently, wishing the cold he was feeling deep in his bones would somehow kill him in the end. He didn't want to hope, having lost all his illusions when he'd seen all his men – all his friends- being bloodily murdered by their attackers.

And the pain he was feeling right now, wrecking him physically in the worst ways, was nothing compared to the loss he experienced mentally, mourning his long time friends and soldiers. Reita didn't have any strenght left to even cry, yet there was nothing he wanted more to do now. His eyes were dry and sore, and sobbing would have been too much of an effort for him to make, as he couldn't even move anymore.

Flashbacks of the previous morning were running through his desperate mind.

_His soldiers gathered in the Castle courtyard, all of them stricly aligned as they should be, almost shining under the bright sun in their immaculate white and gold ceremonial uniforms._

_Reita had lost the right to chose the color of the new uniforms in a sword fight against his eldest brother Aoi, he'd wanted it to be black and gold instead._

_Too bad, white it was._

_« Hey, we're Shiroyama house, so it is only logical that we dress in white, right ? »_

_Aoi's smirk was smug, as he was reminding him that, as the eldest of them, he would be the one to reign on their realm, earning their father's name, whereas Reita, as the second of the brotherhood, will only remain prince Reita Suzuki, forever keeping his mother's name._

_Reita had lightly punched his brother in the shoulder, shaking his head and feigning to be offended. He wasn't, and Aoi knew it. They loved each other too much to let such things tear them appart. Reita did not envy Aoi for being the next King, and Aoi would always rely on his youngest brother for advices and for helping him to keep their land at peace. That's how they'd been raised._

_« It doesn't look that bad » Reita mumbled from the window where he was observing his squad. It rather looked good, even. As it would soon be the festivities celebrating their father's coronation anniversary, they were all going to rehearse the parade they would all display at the occasion, then they would cross the forest all the way to the border, where they would join the cortege of all their royal neighbors on the anniversary day to escort them to their Castle. Everything would have to be perfect, that's why Reita was so adamant about reheasals._

_« Captain. »_

_Reita turned to the sound of that voice._

_Tadashi, his right-hand, was standing a few feet away from him, in a protocolar manner, his right fist on his chest and his left arm resting against his straightened body. The white uniform suited him in a way that had Reita blink a few times to get his thoughts together. Has Tadashi always looked so pretty ? His short dark hair, usually a bit messy, had been tamed in a neat haircut, and his dark eyes were shining, looking at Reita in an expecting way._

_« Tadashi. »_

_He let his eyes roam all over Tadashi's silhouette, hiding his appreciation and keeping a cold tone._

_« You shouldn't be allowed to walk around looking like this. »_

_Tadashi's eyes widened._

_« I'm sorry, Your Majesty, what ? »_

_« Don't you know how beautiful you are ? » Reita let a smile curl his lips, giving up on the haughty demeanor and getting close to his childhood friend. Tadashi blushed and put his opened palm against Reita's chest as he was invading his personnal space, looking around frantically and whispering hurriedly._

_«You're incorrigible, Reita. Don't, we're in the castle, we shouldn't- »_

_« My father's in his study, and my mother is already outside, visiting a girl's school, and nobody's around at this time of the day in this wing of the castle. And who are you to tell the Prince what he should or shouldn't do, hmmm ? »_

_Tadashi was at loss at what to answer, because honestly ? Having Reita so close, almost speaking in his ear, and looking like that...And smelling that good... He couldn't deny it was making it difficult to think properly. Relaxing a little, he decided to play along with his captain's antics._

_« You're right. I don't have any say about what you should or shouldn't do, Your Majesty. » He lowered his eyes shyly. « But maybe Your Majesty would like to know that I really, really think Your Majesty is stunning in this new uniform. »_

_Reita chuckled, a bit surprised by Tadashi's sudden playfulness._

_« Is that so ? Well- »_

_« And maybe Your Majesty would also like to know that I'd be more than glad to help him get rid of this beautiful uniform as soon as we'll be back later ? »There was no shyness in Tadashi's eyes anymore, and Reita couldn't resist. He snaled his arms around Tadashi's slim waist and leant to capture the young man lips. They were both too lost in their own bubble to notice someone entering the hall._

_« Oi you two ! Is it a way to behave in your Prince company ? »_

_They jumped at the loud words, Tadashi hurriedly straightening back to his military salute, flushing red, while Reita was groaning at the intruder._

_« Aoi ! Shouldn't you be... Anywhere else annoying other people like only you know how to? »_

_Aoi faked an evil laugh._

_« Hahaha ! No ! I'd rather annoy you instead. And would you please keep your hands off each other for more than ten minutes ? I swear... » He rolled his eyes, winking at Tadashi, who took it as a clue to take his leave._

_« I'm... gonna check that everything is ready for us to rehearse, Captain. » He waited for Reita's nod, the prince's eyes looking at him with utter fondness and longing, and then he turned to bow at Aoi, leaving the two brothers to themselves._

_« I must admit... White is Tadashi's color, right ? He'd deserve to be part of Shiroyama's conquests, don't you think ? »_

_Reita' missed the mischievous glint in his brother's eyes, and the jealous glare he sent his way was enough for Aoi to burts into loud laughter._

A wave of pain overwhelmed him. He knew death would come for him too eventually, and briefly wondered in a short moment of lucidity why it hadn't come yet. He would welcome it with open arms when it would come, because as much as he was a brave and tough soldier, and as much as he wanted nothing more than coming back home to his beloved family, there was no way he would be able to endure this torture for long, and there was no way he would want to go back to his realm without his soldiers and face the shame of having lost his entire squad to a surprise ambush.

He'd always prided himself in being a good leader, an excellent chief and a skilled strategist, yet he hadn't been able to prevent this disaster. Besides, how on earth could he have imagined this, being attacked in an pacified area they all knew like the back of their hands ? These lands were known to be neutral ground, each borderland respecting its rules and protecting them ? What the hell had become of the non-aggression Pact Reita's grandfather had signed with the others realm's rulers thirty years ago ?

They were crossing the forest, in military order, of course, but the mood was relaxed and friendly, when they'd been arrested by a whole regiment, heavily armed and ready to fight. They were forced to stop their horses and asked by the captain of the other regiment if they had their sorcerer amongst them. Reita's men had laughed at that question. Of course, as all realms around, they did have a powerful sorcerer, indeed, but old Yamagashi hadn't left their castle in like ten years. The poor man wouldn't be able to stand on a horse if his life depended on it. And there were really no reasons to make him travel with the soldiers in time of peace, right ?

The agressors didn't seem to find it laughable though, and they straight away drew their swords and began to slaughter them all mercilessly, Reita's team's quickness of mind not enough to contain their

utnumbering ennemy.

_(heads rolling off bodies, cut throats, horses slaughtered, their panicked neighs echoing in the woods)_

They fought bravely, but in the end even the most valiant warriors can't win with that much strenght difference, and Reita's men knew it.

_(Blood, so much blood, and Reita's screaming orders...)_.

When the last of them saw their end coming,

_(Reita's men's immaculate white uniforms dripping red all over, the stench of blood nauseating and powerful)_

they threw themselves before their prince, trying to shield him despite his protests, and Tadashi, his precious Tadashi, had screamed.

« Save the Prince, you hear me ? Take him and bring him back to the castle ! Keep him safe ! »

Before he'd tried to avoid five attackers who were coming for him. He'd thrown a last glance Reita's way, a longing and painful look that spoke volumes of his feelings for his friend and prince, and had bravely faced his fate.

Reita had refused to leave, obviously, and he'd witnessed the death of everyone of them,

_(Tadashi's beautiful features contorted in utter pain, as he was mercilessly speared and fell on his knees on the ground, Reita's heart breaking at the sight),_

his despair and anger letting him the only one alive. As he thought he was living his last moments

_(he'd been pierced by a sword in the chest and in the right of his abdomen, and it was strangely less painful than the huge cut he had on his neck or the other wound that had cut deeply in his upper arm flesh, but it was bleeding profusely)_

his beautiful horse had reared up, sending him flying on a short distance. He'd barely noticed the excruciating pain of his shinbone breaking twice before his head collided with the ground, and everything went black.

He had briefly regained consciousness while he'd been brought back to wherever they'd took him, thrown on a horse's back like a lifeless body, hearing two men talking about how lucky they were to not come back with empty hands, that maybe the King wouldn't be too mad at them as they were bringing a prince as an hostage and that maybe he could be a leverage of some sorts, maybe his realm would be happy to have him back in exchange of their old sorcerer. But Reita was way too tired and hurt to think clearly, and he'd let darkness won him over again.

He shivered again, laying on the frozen hard ground of his cell (it couldn't be anything else than a cell, if Reita's could judge by the mold scent, the freezing cold or the lack of any furniture), he began to pray the gods for a quick death. He'd suffered enough, and if he had had any value in the eyes of the people who held him captive, he was sure as hell that he wouldn't be treated that way. He lost consciousness again, the unbearable pain engulfing him.

Someone was whispering next to him. He opened his eyes with difficulty, and the darkness had been replaced by a golden halo, and one of the most beautiful face he'd ever seen was hovering above him. Worried smokey dark brown eyes, a small straight nose, plump dark lips and hair so, so black, tied in a prettily sophisticated ponytail. A deep voice echoed in his ears.

«Hey... Do you hear me ? »

Reita nodded slowly. It was so tiring, so painful, to even try to speak. His voice was barely more than a whisper.

« You're beautiful. Are you... Are you the angel of death, finally? »

The stranger's eyes widened briefly, and his stern look softened at Reita's words.

« Am not. Try to rest, Your Majesty, I'm gonna take you out of here. »

Reita's eyes closed again, exhaustion crushing him, and he was only able to hear the stranger's last words before passing out.

« His majesty wants this man healthy enough to send him home in exchange of his castle's sorcerer. There's no way I can heal anybody in such a shitty place. And I doubt this man's family would be too happy to know we've let him roten in jail either. If you don't want to start an useless war, I suggest you to bring him at the shrine's infirmary. I will take care of him there. You heard me. Move him. Now. And don't be unnecessarily brutal. »

Reita fainted.

He woke up to what sounded like a fight.

« … not safe to keep a prisoner in an infirmary instead of jail. You have no say in how I chose to treat prisoners. This man will go back to where he was or else- »

« Or else what ? Who do you think you are, captain ? This man is under my care, His majesty asked me to do my best to heal him, and that's what I'm trying to do. I'm not planning to spend anytime, anywhere near this freezing stinky jail anyway, and there's no way I can cure him if he stays in such an environment. His wounds are going to worsen, he'll soon catch an infection if he hasn't already, and if this doesn't kill him, the pneumonia caused by the cold and the humidity probably will. »

« But he's under my watch, and if he- »

« My only aim is to put him back on his feet. We won't get anything from his family if he's dead. Do your job, Captain, fight when you have to, and let people whose job is to think do it. Now you can dispose ! »

« I'm warning you, I swear if he escapes, you'll be the only one responsible- »

« If he tries to escape, Captain, either I can neutralize him without taking any risk, or I'll kill him. Simple as that. And please don't do me the offense to think I wouldn't be able to kill him. I would kill _you_ in the blink of an eye without you even noticing it, and believe me, I am very tempted to do just this right now. Get out of here or I'll make you. »

He frowned. He didn't know where he was, but these people were keeping him alive in hope that his family would give some sort of ransom to bring him back home. And they were probably the same people that slaughtered his team. And Tadashi. He gritted his teeth at the thought, his heart breaking anew remembering that his lover was gone, earning a sharp pain in his right temple.

He opened his eyes, noticing that he was in a bright room. The part of the room he was in looked like an infirmary, shelves full of flasks and bottles of all sorts, baskets with what looked like clean bandages. On the other side of where he laid, -on a very comfy bed under a bunch of fluffy blankets- was what looked like a lab : shelves with books, others with dry leaves, many flasks too, and jars. A fire was lit in the chimney nearby, and something in the cauldron on it was simmering. A table and a few chairs were disposed between the chimney and the window, and a velvety armchair at Reita's bedside.

The silhouette of the man he'd mistaken last night for the angel of death was behind one of the many countertops, working a pestle angrily in a porcelain mortar, probably imagining whoever he had an argument with some minutes ago being the one smashed by his instrument.

He took his time to look at the man closely. The dark make-up and the way his ebony hair were sophistically done, coupled with the several heavy black robes he wore made him look intimidating and stern, but Reita was pretty sure now that he could observe him in full daylight, that the man was barely out of his teenage years. His dark brown eyes were set in a deep frown, and suddenly he stopped to brutalize the poor thing that was in his bowl and he looked up, straight into Reita's eyes.

« You're awake. »

That wasn't even a question. He left the mortar on the countertop, wiping his hands on a dark rag before stepping closer to Reita and pressing his cool hand on his forehead, making a face when he felt how warm it was. He wrung some cloth out of a bowl and put it just above Reita's eyebrows. It felt so good Reita closed his eyes in relief. When he opened them again, he was handed a spoon filled with a dark and slimmy looking mixture.

« Take this. »

He didn't see the point in refusing, so he obeyed. Just to regret it the second after. The thing tasted as bad as it looked if not worse. He retched a few times, before finally swallowing the terrible sirup, throwing an accusatory glare the man's way.

« If I hadn't heard the conversation, I'd believe that you want to kill me with this right now. How can something taste that terrible ? »

The man just stared at him. Reita waited for an answer that never came. He sighed.

« You won't even deny that you're planning to use me to extort money from my family ? »

The man shrugged, looking bored, but didn't answer again.

«Guess I was an idiot to think you'd got me out of the shithole I was dying in out of kindness. » He added bitterly.

The man's face darkened. He leaned in with a dangerous look on his face.

« Sorry to shatter your illusions so harshly in such a beautiful morning, your Majesty. Maybe you should get your innocent head out of your royal ass and learn to know how it is to live in the real world. Kindness isn't too trendy these days, and not everyone can afford it. So there's this : for some personal reasons I'm not planning to talk about with you anytime soon, I need you alive and healthy. But for others reasons, I also want everybody here to believe that you're still unconscious. That's how you're the most useful to me. Now you have two solutions : either you play your role dutifully and do everything I ask you without even thinking to disobey, and this way I'll do my best to heal you and keep away the pain, or I'll get rid of you one way or another. I have no other interest in keeping you alive than my own, sorry to disappoint, again. » His tone was stern.

Reita maintained his gaze the best he could, but his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy, and his focus was slowly dissolving.

« For now you're going to sleep, that's the only way I can prevent you from suffering, since you're severely injured. Your body needs to rest. When you'll woke up though, I suggest you to think seriously about my offer, because you'll have to take a decision. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, don't even think about running away. First, you're way to weak, and then I put a spell on you, if you take as much as one step outside the castle, you'll fall asleep on the spot. »

Reita barely heard the last words. A spell, he said ? So he was under the watch of some kind of sorcerer ? Damn... He couldn't think anymore, sleep was engulfing him.


	2. Dogma Chronicles: The Druid and the Bodyguard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter, please meet Kai and Tora ;)

Later that day, he awoke for a short span of time, and the man was nowhere to be found.

In a red velvety armchair beside his bed, another man was reading a thick book with a leather cover. He looked very young too, and if he wore dark robes much like his previous guardian did, they looked less formal, more simple. He had a cute face, big dark curious eyes and his lips were set in a pouty frown as he was more than likely trying to understand something he was reading. And unlike his previous jailor, his long brown hair fell freely on his shoulders, a bit dishevelled and ruffled. He was distractedly petting a tiny dog curled in his lap.

Reita realized then that he had no idea of where he was currently being held captive, and of who his jailors were. His body felt stiff and numb, so he tried to stretch. That earned him the instant attention of the young man.

« Oh, you're awake ? Good afternoon ! » And suddenly the man was smiling, and Reita swore he'd never believed that a grin could be that radiant and warm. Was it magic too ?

« Do you want to try to drink something maybe ? »

Reita nodded, his throat was dry and painful. The man got up and put the little dog on the ground, catching a glass of water on the bedside table and holding it to him, still grinning enthusiastly.

«Good. Here... » He chuckled when Reita drank the whole glass. « Hey, easy, your Majesty, you'll get sick if you drink that fast ! »

« Thank you... » Reita sighed. « My head hurts, and my throat too. »

The man chuckled again.

« You should consider yourself lucky to feel only your head and your throat, with how severely you're injured. Your wounds are serious, and we've been quite worried about the infection that had begun to spread from your chest and abdomen's injury. Your shinbone is broken, too, but we managed to fix it. You'll probably not even limp when it will be totally healed. The cut on your neck and on your forearm weren't deep enough to be deadly, but you'll keep scars eventually. What was most concerning to us, apart from the infection, was the commotion you'd suffered from when you fell from your horse. You've had several stitches on your skull to close the wound, but we couldn't say if you wouldn't have amnesia or recover from this since we couldn't say how important your brain bleeding was. But we're more optimistic now. »

The guy tried to blind him with his smile again. Reita didn't let him, and asked with a wary frown.

« What is this place, and who exactly are you ? If I can judge by your clothes and the surroundings, you must be some kind of mages, but I never heard of a castle nor a king that was rich enough to afford several mages. And I can't believe any kingdom would be foolish enough to attack a neighbor realm without any reason. What is going on here ?»

«Ah. Yeah. I figured you'd have many questions. Unfortunately, for now, I can't tell you much. Just know that you're safe, and your health is our only concern. You'll have to be a good boy though, and follow your prescription closely. Thanks to the medicine we're giving you, your body is kinda numb and you're not suffering. You also sleep a lot. But in a few days you'll have to deal with pain more, since we can't keep you under such powerful drugs for too long. For now, just have this. »

He caught a spoon with the same concoction he'd drank earlier in the morning and presented it to him.

« My name's Kai, by the way. »

Reita took it with a face. The information he got wasn't exactly as precise as he would have liked it to be.

« This thing tastes like death. Urgh. Name's Reita.»

Another chuckle. This Kai guy was the exact opposite of the man that took him from the cell.

« Could you please stay here from now on ? I'd very much like to not cross path again with the man that was here this morning. »

Kai's smile faded a bit.

« You know, if it hadn't been for him, you'd probably have died. I'm way less efficient than he is, and my healing skills are way less powerful too. You've had the best care thanks to him, and you owe him your life. »

« Yeah, so that he can ask some ransom to my family. How lovely. »

Kai's smile disappeared totally, and he shook his head regretfully.

« I can't talk about this with you, but believe me when I tell you he really has no other choice. Now go back to sleep, the medicine effects are going to knock you out. I'll be there when you'll wake up next time, and maybe you'll be able to eat some soup, okay ? »

Indeed, Reita's mind was drifting towards oblivion again.

Next time he came back to life, the little sight he could have from his bed on the window showed him that it was already dark outside. Kai was indeed here, helping the other man to dress up. He had the same robes, and his hairdo was still perfect, and he was putting some delicated armbands on his upper arms, just above the elbows. They were embroidened with gold threads. Then he took two heavy looking pearl necklaces, a black one and a white one, and Kai helped him to slip them around his neck, before attaching a shorter metal necklace with a weird cross. Reita was confused. The whole attire was way too fancy for a mere castle's sorcerer. Even his own old sorcerer, who was very strict about following the dressing protocol, didn't wear that many layers of clothes, even when he was attending some official diners or meetings. The two men were whispering softly to each other, and suddenly, just like in the morning, the man who wasn't Kai seemed to become aware of his staring and looked at him, his dark eyes boring right into Reita's.

The staring contest lasted for a few seconds, until a loud knock on the door made them both jump in surprise. The little dog Reita had previously seen on Kai's lap let out a muffled bark from the armchair he was sitting on. The man shushed him reassuringly, before sending Reita a pointed look, reminding him that he had to stay still and not make anyone know that he was indeed conscious. Reita nodded and closed his eyes.

Kai sent his friend an apologetic look, before he went to open the door. Two soldiers in dark uniform were waiting there. They bowed reverently.

« His majesty and the council are waiting for your Highness. »

Reita frowned internally. _What the hell ? Your Highness ?_ Something was wrong. Nobody amongst sorcerers was called your Highness, except...

Kai helped the other man to drap himself in a large and thick black cape, before he bowed too.

« May your magic be strong tonight, your Highness. »

The other man smiled weakly before he straightened his shoulders and seemed to take a hold of himself.

« Thank you, Kai-sensei. I leave you for now under the watch of Tora-sempai. Keep an eye on the Prince, too, I prepared his medicine. Don't wait for me, I might come back late. »

Kai sighed when the door closed after his friend's departure. Reita didn't miss a beat before opening his eyes and asking.

« Who is he? »

Kai turned towards him, surprised by his question.

« Excuse me ? »

« I said, who is he ? Your friend ? The clothes, the tittle, nothing seems right... »

Kai chuckled disbelievingly, shaking his head.

« You mean he hasn't introduced himself ? Really ? » As Reita wasn't replying and was still looking intensely at him, Kai sighed. « You're under the watch of his Highness Ruki, of the Dark Moon Coven. »

Reita gasped.

« What ? » Now all seemed to made more sense, except... « But High Priests aren't not supposed to be at anyone's service ? They're higher authorities than kings themselves ! What the hell is wrong here ? »

Kai sighed again.

« Well, you're right. Something's wrong. But there's really nothing we can do against this for now, and Ruki is doing his best to not worsen things and start a war. This is a very complicated and hazardous situation, and we're just trying to make things right, even if we have very few chances to succeed. »

He looked at Reita, visibly torn between explaining more and being cautious.

« It's not my place to tell you more, but maybe tomorrow you can try to ask him. For now, maybe we could have a nice evening ? I mean, you won't be awake for long but maybe you'd like to taste my soup ? »

Reita was still flabbergasted. Who was this king who disrespected their traditions and mages so much he'd treat one of their highest representant as a mere servant ? And why did this high priest accept this ?At the mention of soup though, and now that he was aware of the delicious smell that floated in the room, he nodded.

« I'd be glad to. »

Reita hadn't even finished to speak when the door was opened again, and a very tall and well built man entered the room. He was wearing a deep frown and his lips were set in a thin line. Reita was instantly weary, but if Kai's blinding smile was any indication, the man was more than likely someone he hadn't to worry about.

« Ah, prince Reita, please meet Tora-sempai ! He's our everything here, bodyguard, blacksmith, bard, and dowser. And closest friend, too. »

At Reita's surprise, Tora bowed and blushed, his lips curling a bit, looking shyly at his feet.

« Nice to meet you, prince Reita. You can call me Tora. Don't listen to Kai-kun, he's always trying to make me more important than I really am. I'm just here to protect him and his Highness,

that's the only thing I'm good at. »

« That's a very noble mission, indeed. Nice to meet you too, Tora-sempai. » Reita already liked the humbled and honest vibes the guard was giving out.

« Tsk. Without you we would be lost, and you know this as well as I do. Just help me, we're going to bring the table here, right next to the bed, so that we will be able to keep the Prince company as we all eat. »

Tora shook his head with a grin, and caught the little table by himself, placing it where Kai had just motionned as if it weighted nothing.

« Poser ! » Kai was mumbling, bringing some huge bowls and shopsticks with him, but his smile was difficult to ignore. He then brought the cauldron that was simmering in the fireplace on the table, and served Reita's first, pouring some steaming and very good smelling soup in his bowl.

« Hope you will like it, your majesty. It's not much for now. Be careful, don't get burnt, okay ? If you recover soon, I'll make sure you have hearty meals as much as you want ! »

The soup was delicious, even more after all the time he hadn't had a proper meal, only surviving with whatever was in the potions and medicine the high priest was giving him. When he complimented Kai, the young man blushed profusely, shaking his hands before him as Tora, who'd had a whole bowl of soup with meat and vegetables and was refilling it already, echoed Reita's praise with a mischievous glint in his eyes. The two men began to chat about their day and whatever gossip they'd heard while doing their chores, and Reita was forced to recognize that the domesticity of it all warmed a bit his grieving heart, letting him breathe more freely, even if for just a moment.

Once they were done eating, Tora helped Kai to clean the dishes, and brought the table back at its spot, before he bowed before Reita, asking a bit hesitantly.

« Your majesty... Forgive me for asking, but... Is there any chance you play Shoggi ? »

Kai scowled him fondly.

« Tora ? Seriously ? You know, prince Reita is here to recover, not to be your playfellow !»

He turns to Reita, bowing slightly.

« Forgive him, Tora would kill to find someone to play shoggi with. He hadn't find anyone able to play with him since we're here. His Grace doesn't like it, and I'm just too bad at it. Tora misses his daily shoggi contests with Uruha, our friend who stayed at the Coven. Sometimes they played it all night long. »

Reita smiled faintly.

« You must be kidding, right ? I'm the best shoggi player of this part of the world, and I can't seem to find someone who plays well enough to even make a proper game against me. But I'm not sure I'll be able to stay awake for long, though »

« It's okay, your Majesty, we'll play as long as you can, if you want, that is. »

Reita nodded, and soon they were installed as well as they could. Kai had brought two huge pillows to keep Reita in a best position to play. Tora had brought another little table next to the bed. Of course Shoggi was usually played kneeled on the ground, but there was no way Reita would have been able to sit or kneel, so they would have to make do. Kai had brought his velvety chair (and his book) near the bed too, and he'd added some wood in the fireplace, filling the room with a sweet warmth. The little dog had appeared from nowhere, taking its place back on Kai's lap with a contented sigh.

Reita was beginning to feel sleep coming when the dog suddenly hopped from Kai's lap to sit in front of the door expectantly, making Kai get up in a hurry.

« They're coming. They'll be there in a few minutes. »

Tora caught the game board delicately and put it on the desk next to the window, while Kai was helping Reita to lay down again.He couldn't help but ask.

« How... How did you know ? »

« Koron -it's the little guy here- » (Kai was pointing at the dog) « -always feels when Ruki is about to return. They're kinda... connected ? »

He smiled apologetically at Reita's confused stare.

«Koron has never been proven wrong. Now just stay still, until the guards are gone, okay ? Please ? »

Reita nodded. A few seconds later, the High Priest was passing the door, escorted by the same guards he'd went with. They bowed before taking their leave, the High Priest closing the door behind them with a heavy sigh.

«Are you okay ? How did it go ? » Kai asked softly.

The High Priest – Ruki?- just shook his head, throwing Reita a glance before he answered.

« We'll talk about this privately. Did he eat something ? Did he took his medecine ? Is he in pain ? »

«Well, he ate some soup and yes, he took the sirup. He doesn't seem to suffer for now, and he even played shoggi with- »

« You know I'm just here, right ? Why don't you ask me your questions directly instead of asking someone else ? » Reita did nothing to hide the annoyance he was feeling at the High Priest's blatant disregard.

The High Priest stared at him coldly for mere seconds before he turned to Kai without answering Reita, who was beginning to feel drowsy again.

« Good. I'll check his bandages tomorrow. Now let's go to sleep, boys. » And he left the room, without as much as a glance towards Reita, who would have felt frustrated and angry if only he'd had enough energy for it. But his eyes were closing, already, and the last thing he heard was Kai wishing him a good night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you a bit curious? I hope so!


	3. The King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short, hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless <3

Next morning, Reita woke up to the feeling of cold hands on his stomach. He groggily opened his eyes but the light coming from the window made him flinch and shut them hastily again. A low humorless chuckle came from his right side, where the owner of those damned hands was more than likely standing.

“Good morning, your Majesty.”

A groan left his throat.

“Humph. Did you put your hands in a bucket full of ice?” He tried to stretch, to no avail since the pain he got from the side of his belly reminded him suddenly that he’d been severely injured. “ Ouch.”

Then he remembered the talk he’d had with Kai last night.

“And good morning to you too, Your Highness.”

The man, who’d seemed unphased when Reita had started talking, stopped removing the bandages off his wound at his last words. Reita could see through his lashes that he was confused first, then shook his head as realization dawned on him.

“Kai can’t keep his mouth shut, can he?”

He seemed to have found his self composure back, finishing to take the long strips of soiled cloth delicately.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you are?”

“Does it really matter? Who I am doesn’t make your situation or mine better, does it?”

“Do you always answer questions with other questions?”

He asked with a frown as the High Priest was washing the wound softly, wiping all the dried blood and the lymph from the injury with clean rags and boiled water. He dried it with a soft towel then, and began to apply some potion from one of the many bottles he kept on Reita’s nightstand. Reita hissed when the dark colored liquid touched his skin.

“Hey! It burns!”

“Sorry. Until then I gave you medicine to keep you asleep while I was cleaning your wounds and replacing your bandages but I’m afraid I can’t keep you under such strong medication for too long, or you’ll risk to get accustomed to it and to ask for more everyday. It won’t do no good to your mood, too. I will give you painkillers and things to sleep at night, but we have to get you wean off this from now on. I’m-“

A loud knock on the wooden door startled them both. Then Tora’s voice rose, stern and cold.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but you haven’t been announced and His Grace is currently taking care of the prisoner’s wounds, and he musn’t be disturbed in such a hazardous task. “

The High Priest’s eyes widened at this. Tora had no right whatsoever to prevent the King to enter any place in his own castle, and the guard knew it. He was just buying them some time to prepare themselves. The King was already scolding Tora disdainfully for being so overweening.

“Okay. Just like I told you, I’m gonna create the illusion for the King and whoever might come in with him that you’re in a coma. You can keep your eyes open if you want as they won’t be able to see it, but please stay as quiet and silent as possible. I don’t have that many force to lose to create an illusion.”

The High Priest had hardly whispered his last words when the door was opened brutally, letting two guards in uniforms in first, followed by the King before two other guards. Reita had kept his eyes open, and could now observe the man who’d savagely ordered his men to slaughter his squad. His heart clenched painfully at the memory, but he pushed it at the back of his mind for now. He had to focus if he wanted to have a chance to get out of here someday.

The King had stopped at the bed’s foot, his back straight, his arms crossed before him haughtily, and was looking at the High Priest with a stare Reita didn’t really understand the meaning of. Everything in the man screamed of arrogance and overconfidence. He was young, well built and tall, and as much as Reita would have wanted to say that he was ugly, he was very far from it. A square jaw, brown hair which fell in waves on his shoulders, the King could have been pleasant for the eyes, if it hadn’t been for his cruel and satisfied smirk and the viciousness he didn’t even bother hiding in his eyes.

“Well, well, well, good morning, Your Grace…” The King said, sarcasm dripping from his words. “It seems that your damned Bodyguard doesn’t still know his place here.”

The High Priest had straightened himself, still holding the new bandages he was about to wrap Reita’s wound in.

“Good morning, Your Majesty. I’m sorry for Tora’s behavior, he only means good and he knows how much I dislike to be interrupted when I’m trying to tend to such difficult injuries. I will let him know that obviously, your Majesty can come and visit as he pleases. What gives me the honor of your presence so early in the morning, my King?”

The man scoffed, but Reita didn’t miss the satisfied glint in his eyes at the High Priest’s apologies.

“That dog of yours would better change his attitude if he wants to keep his head attached to his shoulders. And I wanted to take a close look at this... Prince. Hiromasa was furious that you’d got him taken from the jail he was thrown in. How is he recovering? When will I be able to ask the ransom from his family? Is his health improving?”

The High Priest chose to ignore the first sentence of the King, replying in a cold and collected tone.

“Well, I’m sorry to have to tell Your Majesty this, but Hiromasa isn’t as smart as he’d want us to believe. And I would really appreciate that he would stop barging in here as if HE was the owner of the castle. He often forgets his place. I had to remind him that the only one person I had to be held accountable for was Your Majesty, not him. He’s been very rude and disrespectful, and I would be more than grateful if you could ask him to watch his words and actions around me. I’m only trying to help, and this man is way more useful in good health than decaying in a cell. As for his bill of health, I’m rather satisfied with how the cuts on his neck and arm are going. The deep wound on his chest is healing nicely and I fixed his broken leg too. What concerns me more, though, is the wound in his abdomen. It’s ugly and I can’t seem to get rid of the infection he caught in the dungeon. This, and the fact that he didn’t woke up from his coma. He hurt his head badly, and the commotion he got added to the traumatism of seeing all of his squad so brutally killed is probably the reason why he’s still unconscious. As soon as he wakes up, your Majesty will be warned, you can be assured of this.” The High Priest bowed slightly.

“I sure hope I will.” The King glared at the High Priest. “We’re going to have to find solutions to our problem, Your Grace. Until now, everything we did wasn’t sufficient, luck was never with us and you know better than anyone that patience isn’t one of my many qualities. When I want something, I don’t want anything to get in my way, and this situation has lasted long enough.” The King all but growled.

“I’m doing my best, your Majesty. I gave you my word.”

The King seemed to loosen up slightly at these words.

“Yes, it’s true. And it’s also true that without you and your talent, we wouldn’t have found this squad and have this prince in our hands. Foresight is such a useful skill. And of course, I expected nothing less from you, Your Grace. So much power in such a beautiful creature. Imagine what a powerful alliance we will be, you and I”.

Reita’s brain had a hard time processing what was going on. He didn’t understand what the King was referring to (an alliance?), but he was shocked by what the man just said. He didn’t realize the King was taking his leave until the door closed behind the two last guards.

The High Priest let out an audible shaky sigh. The skin of his face was paler than ever, and his hands were trembling. If Reita hadn’t heard the last things the King said, he would probably have felt sorry for the High Priest’s distress, but anger was beginning to grow inside him, and if he could, he’d probably have his two hands around the High Priest’s throat right now.

“What the hell did he mean? About you helping them to find my squad? Is it true?”

The mage seemed to get a hold of himself when Reita spoke. He looked at him straight in the eyes.

“You probably don’t understand the whole situation, and I don’t plan to explain it to you. Yes, I’m holding divining rounds for the King, as he commanded me to. Most of the time I help them to localize precise people or things, or foresee events. Most of the time it helps them to gain money or win battles. It never occurred before now that they end up killing or injuring people for nothing. Hiromasa, The King’s right hand, is a sick bastard and until now he’d kept him under control, but as the King himself is becoming restless, Hiromasa is feeling more and more daring and he acts like a maniac.”

Reita’s rage and grief was getting the best of him.

“You told them where to find us! You killed us just as much as they did! You’re supposed to protect and heal people, not to send blood starving wolves after them! What the hell is wrong with you? They were my childhood friends, for gods’sake! You killed everyone of them! You killed Tadashi, too! “ Reita was crying, violent sobs shaking him from head to toes. His eyes were burning with hate and betrayal. “How could you do this? How could you?!”

He was trying to get out of his bed when Tora, alerted by the shouting, entered the room and helped the mage to maintain the Prince in his bed.

“Just leave me alone! You're a monster! What did we do to deserve to be killed like animals! Leave me alone I said! And let me die!” Reita was thrashing out on the bed, throwing punches around him, as Tora was holding him. Luckily for the guard, Reita was still weak and dizzy. “I hate you! I hate you! If I ever see you again I swear I'll kill you! Bastard! Murderer!”

Ruki had caught a needle in a cup. He dipped it in a little bottle on Reita’s nightstand and quickly came to prick in Reita’s upper arm. In less than five seconds, the prince’s body fell back on the matress, like a lifeless corpse. Somehow Reita was still managing to struggle and he was mumbling, still crying weakly. “I will kill you! Let me die!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always, always welcome ;)


	4. Dreaming

He slept for what felt like an eternity, awoke for brief moments to catch glimpses of Kai's worried face above him, sometimes feeling a damp fresh cloth on his forehead, sometimes only feeling pain and the void eating his insides, sometimes shivering as if he were in a pool of ice, sometimes his whole body burning like a furnace.

He probably hallucinated but he thought he saw the High Priest asleep in the velvety armchair next to his bed several times, wrapped in a white wollen blanket. The Mage looked exhausted and his features were contorted in sadness.

And Reita dreamed. Time and time again. Of the day of the attack. The same scene. Over and over again. The screams, the blood, the anger and the fear. These dreams were vivid, he could even smell the stench of blood, feel the pain of his wounds, the sorrow in his heart as each one of his closest friends died and he could do nothing to prevent it.

But the strangest thing was that the High Priest was in his dreams too. He wasn't in the scene in itself, no, it was more like he was an observer of some sorts, like if he was just here to witness what was going to happen. Each time. But each time, even if the scene was the same scene he'd witnessed back then, there was a small change.

The first time, Reita didn't see any change, and the High Priest's face was stern, devoid of any emotions. But then, as the dreams kept coming back, each time a small difference appeared.

His friends, who'd been dying brutally, were now accepting death with a serene face, staring at Reita one by one with a relieved look and no trace of their previous agony, falling on the ground like they were falling asleep. The High Priest's face, though, was twisted in pain and despair, and he could hear his voice clear in his head.

“They died peacefully. They knew you would survive, and that's all that mattered to them. I let them know you would live.”

Next dream, Tadashi was turning towards him and he was shouting to the rest of his men to protect their prince, and Reita's heart was clenching painfully in his chest. It wasn't fair, this couldn't be happening, he needed more time... There was this thing he hadn't told Tadashi, this thing he wasn't totally sure he was willing to admit, because it was so... important, and he wasn't sure he was ready to face whatever this was implying, for the both of them, and he wasn't so sure Tadashi was feeling the same, and wouldn't it be embarrassing... And heartbreaking, if he had to deal with a rejection?

Because yes, Tadashi was one of his childhood friends and they'd known each other for so long. And yes, Tadashi and him had begun to act as more than friends a while ago, when they were all just a bunch of horny teenagers, and when all their friends had turned to girls to play games that were not for kids, Tadashi and him and turned to each other. And yes again, he knew for sure that Tadashi liked him somehow, since he'd never turned to another boy.

But... it was one thing to fool around in the woods and to kiss each other passionately and to prefer someone's company over any other... And it was totally another story to confess to someone that he could be in love with them, right?

Everything was turning in his head at lightning speed, and now he regretted to not have said a word, and the sorry look on Tadashi's face, full of distress and sorrow, was making him regret it even more, because damn he could see it now, written as obvious as it would ever be, that Tadashi's feelings weren't different from his, and that they could have had their perfect moment where the both of them would have realized that their feelings were reciprocated, and that would have been a moment they would both have cherished, but they would never be able to experience it after all, because they were dying.

He was screaming, now, in frustration and anger, but suddenly Tadashi looked at him with widened eyes, as the scene was blurring and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. And the glint of happiness and love he saw in his lover's gaze overwhelmed him, as he looked back at him, trying to convey all these damned words he'd kept for himself like a coward.

“He knows.” A broken whisper in his head. “He knows, and he wants you to know that he feels the same. I promised him you'll be safe.”

The High Priest sobbed from afar, dark streams of tears running on his cheeks, devastated and shaking.

Reita finally woke up for good at the end of an afternoon, judging by the faded light that came from the window. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Kai, in the velvety chair, reading a book aloud with a child curled up in his lap. He was too exhausted to utter a word, so he just stayed still, looking at them through half closed eyes, Kai's voice lulling him to almost fall asleep again. But the young boy looked up at some time, and their gazes locked.

“Kai-sensei, Prince Reita is awake!”

Kai stopped reading, and smiled sadly at Alkira.

“Welcome back, Prince Reita. We've been so worried. We almost lost you this time. The infection we were fighting -the one of the wound on your abdomen- got infected again, and as you were really weak and depressed it hit you hard and we had a hard time to heal you.”

Reita looked at him with blank eyes.

“You should have let me die.”

His tone was cold and hoarse. His throat was achingly dry, but he didn't care much.

“I knew you would say that. But we can't. We're not used to let people die, not if we can avoid it. I'm gonna get some water for you, and some potion for you to take. Shin-kun, can you please watch after Prince Reita while I do this?”

The little boy nodded, his dark eyes observing Reita. He bit his lower lip, hesitatingly, and pouted, throwing Reita's way a look full of reproach.

“Kai-Sensei and His Grace spent a lot of time taking care of you, and they were really very worried. His Grace only left your side earlier today, because Kai-Sensei forced him to rest, but he'd stayed here the whole time you were sick, and I saw him cry several times, too. He looked very sad, and he used a lot of his energy to heal you.”

Reita just stared at him.

Kai was coming back with a glass and a small bottle of a dark liquid.

“Shhh, Prince Shin. Leave Prince Reita alone, he's still very weak and you shouldn't scold him. Here, your Majesty, take this. It should be better, I added some honey to make the medicine taste better.”

Reita opened his mouth and took the spoon Kai was handing him, humming approvingly. It did taste a lot better, and the honey felt good in his sore throat. He fell back on his pillow, his head spinning a bit, and closed his eyes. He felt like a whole herd of horses had just run all over him. When he opened his eyes again, it was to find Kai crouched before the young boy.

“Hey, Prince Shin, it's time for you to come back to the Castle. I'm gonna ask Tora-Sensei to take you there and make sure everything is okay.”

The little boy looked defeated, his shoulders falling.

“Can't I stay with you, Sensei? I will be a good boy, I won't be a nuisance, I promise!”

“Oh, Shin-kun, you're always a good boy! But I can't keep you here, you have to go back home. I'm sorry. You know we have to be careful if we want your father to still agree on you spending time here with us, right?”

The kid just nodded and straightened his back, trying to appear as brave as he could, but failing as some tears escaped him. Kai seemed as heartbroken as he was, wiping gently the cheeks of the little boy.

« Hey, you know what ? I'm gonna ask Tora to tell your preceptor that you're being a bit feverish so that he will leave you alone tonight. And I will send him to pick you up first thing in the morning, for a check-up. You will take your breakfast with us and spend the day here. What do you think ? »

The thin face of the child lightened up. He caught up the young druid in a tight hug, making him chuckle fondly.

« Thank you, Kai-Sensei, you're really the best ! »

Some minutes later, Tora was entering the room, catching the little boy and throwing him on his back, and listening to Kai's recommendations, and the two of them were soon gone, Kai's look lingering on the door. Reita couldn't help the question.

« Who's this kid ? And why was he so sad to go ? »

Kai seemed to come back to reality and sighed, shaking his head with a frown.

« Oh, sorry, Prince Reita. This was Prince Shin, the King's only son. »

The young mage stopped talking at Reita's sudden expression.

« Oh but don't worry, he won't reveal anything about you, we asked him not to. He's a real good boy, and has a heart of gold and a sharp mind. But he's very sensible and too frail for His majesty's liking, so he asked one of his most brutal soldier to become the kids's preceptor as to teach him life and make him become a man. Fortunately, the preceptor isn't good at reading and barely knows how to write, so His majesty asked His Grace to teach those to Shin. Now the little boy is spending a lot of his time here, and we all have taken a liking in him. But it's always hard for him to come back to his rooms when it's time to, and it's also hard for us to send him back there, knowing that he will more likely than not be mistreated by the stupid brute his father assigned him. »

Kai's fists were clenched at his side, and Reita could see the anger burning in the young man's eyes.

« Oh. But doesn't he have a mother ? »

Kai's laughter was barely more than a bitter bark.

« His majesty made sure the young Queen didn't live long enough to even be able to name the poor child. He doesn't have any consideration for the women he married. The first one was a marriage arranged by his old father when he was still living, and they gained a lot of new territories thanks to it, but as soon as the old King died, the new King's wife fell sick, well, if you can call being poisoned being sick. She was soon replaced, but the King only wanted a heir, so she was soon lying in the cemetary next to the previous Queen. »

Reita was taken aback. He didn't know where he was, but he had no idea that one of their neighbor king could be so cruel and sick. That didn't sound good, for any of them. But he still had another question since Shin's departure.

« The young Prince told me... That His Grace hadn't left my side since I fell sick... I know he's supposed to keep me alive, but... Why ?. »

Kai's expression softened.

« Listen, Prince Reita. I know things are looking quite ugly from your point of view about His Grace right now. I do think that Ruki should explain you everything, so that you could make your own opinion about us, based on the true situation and all we risk here, and that's why I will advise him to talk to you as soon as you will feel strong enough to listen to him, because that's going to be a long discussion, and we don't want you to exhaust yourself more than you already had. And if you want to know the truth, you'll also have to promise me that you won't put yourself in danger by letting your anger have the best of you, or that you won't try to hurt Ruki in any way. I kinda like you, and it would pain me to have to break your neck, you understand ? »

Kai's face had turned stern, and if Reita had to be honest, and even if he would never have thought it, the threatening glare he was being given now was quite powerful and scary.

« I do. »

Kai sighed again, and suddenly the tired smile that appeared on his lips almost made Reita think that the threat had never existed at all. But he knew better than think like this, because he'd seen something under Kai's soft traits that he knew he couldn't have imagined.

« Well, I'm glad you do. The only thing I will allow myself to reveal is this : Ruki used a powerful magic on you, to heal both your infected wound and your pained soul. It's something that asks a lot of energy, as he's been sharing his vital strenght with you to fight the fever and help you to reject the contaminated cells. But this share is double-sided : if you can absorb his force, he has to absorb your infection. So he's been in pain just as much as you were, and thanks to him your body was strong enough to begin to heal properly. I honestly think that without him you would have been doomed. »

Reita frowned, deeply troubled by what the young druid was revealing. He remembered the glimpses of the High Priest he'd seen through his feverish awakenings, and the images of him he'd seen in his painful dreams.

« But... Why ? And... Was it why I also saw him in my dreams, too ? »

Kai was surprised. It was rare that such effects were seen, especially from somebody who had no magic in them.

« You did ? Really ? Oh... Actually, and against my opinion, Ruki somehow went in the past through your dreams. »

The young prince was lost. 

« In the past ? Through my dreams ? You're kidding, right ? Even with magic I know that's not possible. »

« Well, I told you Ruki was powerful. So yes, it's technically impossible to go back to the past in reality. But it is indeed possible by the means of dreams, for very short laps of time, and you can't do much except witness things, and sometimes, in special occasions, have a little influence there. But it also means that it's a very energy consuming act, and there's a price to pay for every magic, you know ? »

« What... Why did he came in my dreams ? »

Kai smiled sadly.

« Ruki feels so bad about your squad being murdered. He has felt like this from the very beginning, before he'd ever learnt that you were still alive. He's a healer, he's never thought he would be the cause of such a bloody slaughter, and it's very hard for him to live with this truth. There was nothing much he could do about it, though, and as he always could come back to that moment through your dreams, there's one thing he couldn't do, and that thing was changing the past. It's not possible, because the course of time won't allow it. But there was something he could do, and that thing was to ease the death of your companions. So he went there, and took away their pain as they were killed, and helped them to die in peace as the only thing that was worrying them more than their own death was yours. He told them you would be okay, and then they died peacefully and painlessly. He also specially took care of this one soldier you were close to... »

« Tadashi ? » Reita's shaky whisper fell from his lips, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

« Yes. Him. » Kai fell silent for a few seconds, before he looked back at Reita and locked gaze with him. « Ruki made sure he understood how much you cared for him, and what you'd been wanting to say to him since forever. Ruki came back from your dreams devastated. He was so sad, and he said it was unfair that such a gentle soul like his had to die. He also said that Tadashi's feelings for you were deep and sincere, and that he held the same love for you as you did for him. »

Reita's eyes were blurring.

« But how... How did he knew my feelings for him ? »

« Just like he had to share your physical pain to be able to share his vital force with you, he also had to experience your mental loss to be able to bring you some peace of mind and allow you to not lose your sanity from the grief you were suffering of. Of course that means that he had to feel how you felt too. »

« Good lord... » Reita had trouble to process all that Kai was telling him. The High Priest had put himself through so much pain for him, just to help him to heal ? He could have understood this if it had been only to keep him alive, but he didn't even have to keep him sane or less shattered to ask some rançon. « But... He didn't have to do this... »

Kai smiled again, more warmly this time.

« No, he didn't. But it's just the way he is. Ruki really is a man of exception. He's pure and has the best heart someone can imagine. I don't ask you to forgive him, but please, give him a chance to explain why we're all in this situation now, okay ? »

Reita nodded, exhaustion washing over him after all the emotions he'd had hearing Kai's speech.

« Have a good rest, Prince Reita. The potion I gave you will make you sleep some more, as you need it to recover. There will always be somebody by your side when you'll wake up, okay ? »

Reita drifted to sleep again, and for the first time he didn't dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed ;) Don't forget to tell me what you thought about this chapter <3 I'm curious. And I have to say I have a special soft spot for sweet bard Kai-sensei, hehe...


	5. The High Priest

Fresh air hitting his face and making him shiver was what awoke him next. Through blurry eyes he could see the High Priest entering the room, escorted by two dreary guards, who bowed and left on the spot. The Mage was deadly pale, and he colapsed on the floor the moment the door closed behind the soldiers. Kai hurried by his side, followed by Tora.

The two of them were seemingly reading by the fireplace waiting for their friend to come back. Tora picked the frail body in his arms bridal style, and headed towards the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. Kai caught a few bottles from the shelf besides Reita's bed and cursed under his breath.

« What's the matter ? Is he going to be okay ? »

Kai made a turnabout, a bit surprised to see him awake. He sighed and scrunched his nose, looking upset.

« Oh, I do hope so. He used a lot of his energy to heal you, but the King has been adamant on having him divining for two days straight and he's just worn out. We're going to take care of him. Thank you for your concern. Do you need anything before I go ? »

Reita shook his head no, and Kai left with a wave of his hand.

« Good night, Prince Reita ! » And just like that, he was gone, and Reita was already falling asleep again.

He totally lost any track of time, just drifting through briefs moments of awakening, where he could catch glimpses of the life around that kept on going, (Kai alone next to the cauldron, a focused frown on his face -little Shin sitting next to his bed with wooden toys in his hands – Tora entering the room with a sword- Kai again, leaning over him, probably changing his bandages- and deep slumber, with no dreams.

It felt like he'd been asleep for a hundred years when he finally opened his eyes without feeling like he was dying of tiredness. The High Priest was sitting in the velvety armchair, in a long white night gown, wrapped in a white woolen shawl. He was craddling a steamy mug in his hands, and was deep in thoughts. The smell that was coming from the mug stabbed Reita in the chest.

When he was a little boy, and his father went on trips to take care of issues regarding their realm, his mother would take him and his brother Aoi in the royal bedroom and they were allowed to spend the night there, sleeping next to their mother after she'd read them some bedtime stories. And she would have mugs with milk and honey prepared for them, with a pinch of cinnamon. This particuliar smell always reminded him of those rare sweet nights.

As the memories were flooding through his mind, a tear escaped him. He'd never thought that he could miss his family so much and now, far from them and not knowing if he would ever see them again, he regretted not telling them all how much he loved them.

The High Priest somehow realized that he was awake, and he went instantly concerned.

« Prince Reita ? Are you in pain ? »

« No. I'm just... This... This smells like the milk my mother used to prepare for us when we were kid. I just... Miss her... I think... »

The mage nodded in understanding.

« I see... Do you want some ? »

Reita smiled weakly.

«I 'd love to. »

The mage stood up and went to the little table next the chimney, and came back with another steaming mug.

« Be careful, it's hot. »

Reita nodded, and caught the mug.

« So, can I sit with you for a while or do I have to wake Tora because you still want to kill me ? » A sorry smile was stretching the young priest's lips.

Reita shrugged.

« It's not that I wouldn't want to give it a try, but I'm still too weak for now. Maybe in a few days ? Besides, Kai told me what you did, for me and for my comrades, and even if I still don't understand completely how this worked, I 'm grateful you made the efforts to ease their pain, and mine. Kai also made me promise to not attempt to kill you before you could explain me what this is all about, so... I am waiting for you to talk, now. »

The High Priest scrunched his nose again, clearly embarrassed that his friend had talked to Reita at all.

« Kai talks too much, maybe I will have to cut his tongue after all. He's lucky he's a good cook. »

Reita laughed hoarsely, taking a deep inhale of the familiar smell. He closed his eyes and let the scent soothe his nerves. He hoped he could see his family again soon.

« It must be good, to have a mother. »

Reita frowned.

« It is. Did you not know yours ? »

The High Priest shook his head slowly, regretfully.

« Nope. Didn't have the chance. As far as I can remember, there's never been anyone else than Kai and me. » he paused, fidgeting with the hem of his shawl. « So... What do you want to know ? » He asked cautiously.

Reita hadn't expected it to be that easy. He'd thought that the High Priest would be more than reluctant to let him in their lives, and yet here they were. He didn't hesitate, though.

« I want to know everything. »

Ruki chuckled nervously.

« Everything, he ? Nothing more ? »

« I just... I think this situation is complex, and has many layers, and as I don't know many things from your community, except the few things old Yamagashi told us, it would maybe be better if you began from the start. Besides, it's not like we don't have the time, right ? So ? How does someone become a High Priest ? Is it some hereditary thing ? What's the relationship between you and Kai, or Tora ? What kind of mages are you all ? »

« Damn ! So eager, so many questions ! »

This time, the High Priest laughed good heartedly, and it made him look less intimidating, more human. And for the first time, Reita found him cute. « And you're right, we have time, as we both slept for the past three days, and now we're at the beginning of the night and we probably won't be able to have any sleep anytime until morning ».

« So... Are you ready ?... »

« As I said, for as long as I can remember, Kai and I have always been together. We were in this kind of rotten shelter, with many abandonned kids just like us. We were barely surviving, eating things we could steal here and there, sleeping on dirty rags. Not very appealing, right ? But as we were there since forever, it didn't really matter, as long as we were together. And as soon as we were old enough to be able to become useful slaves, around four or five maybe, we were proposed for sale at the local fair. As Kai and I were likely the same age, we ended up on the fair at the same moment. »

« Wait... Are you and Kai brothers ? »

The High Priest shrugged it off.

« I litteraly have no idea. And it's not that important, you know, because he's more than a brother for me, have always been. Where was I ? Ah, yes, the fair... » He frowned. « To be able to fully understand the whole context, I'm gonna have to teach you a bit of Dogma history. Is it okay with you ? »

Reita nodded his head, urging him to keep on talking.

« Well. Dogma was once a very powerful and large community. Covens could be found all over the country and beyond, and adepts were many. Powerful Mages and Priests were rulling the communities, and made sure the rules of Dogma were respected and followed, to their extremes. At some point in time, only very orthodox and severe headmasters were running the Covens, and they chased away any moderate leader there could be. Followed a time of great austerity, where Dogma's rules were even amended to their utmost stringency, where non-pure blood mages were banned from Covens, and even pure blood mages weren't allowed to attend Dogma's study and become part of the community if their Potential wasn't powerful enough.

There were also rules that were edicted for the morality of the mages then. Sex, as it had always been a cause of lost of power amongst our kind, became a forbidden act, except for the only purpose of bearing children, and even then there were precise rules as when and where you could do it, the people you could do it with, according to the moon, the oracles or prophecies. As you could expect, it was more and more difficult to have pure blood applicants since women didn't gave birth as often as before, and even more so as some mages were running from the communities to be able to live normal lives that wouldn't be entirely ruled by unsensitive leaders. Not right away, but soon enough, Dogma became an aging gathering of fanatical narrow-minded graybeards, and as time went by, entire Covens disappeared as the oldsters were dying from age. Luckily, there happened to be a few young mages who entered some Covens and saw the emergency to bend or change rules in order to prevent Dogma from dying completely because of the lack of adepts. And some of them began to make pilgrimage in the villages around, to find some new apprentices to train. That's where we enter the story. »

Ruki paused and took a small gulp of milk, closing his eyes and savouring it.

_They'd been at the fair a few times before, but nobody was ever interested in buying such frail and young kids. There were always older boys who could be more useful for chores than them, or little girls that would be send in places where twisted men would always find an interest in them. They'd settled in a corner of the cage, sitting against each other to keep themselves warm, hoping for the sale to go quickly so they could return to the shelter. It wasn't like the place was cozy or anything, but at least they didn't feel like they would freeze to death in the next minutes._

_It was then that some other kids of the cage, who were getting bored waiting, decided out of the blue to come have fun bullying them. They began to hit, kick and punch the two little boys, without no reason because being mean and stupid doesn't need any. They were probably twice their age, and Ruki didn't remember having been that scared in his childhood than he'd been that day._

_The kids would probably have killed them there and then, and nobody would have cared at all. There were enough orphans in the streets. But suddenly, the bulliers were thrown against the walls of the cage violently, and the two tallest were punched repeatedly, before being left with their bleeding faces on the floor. A boy probably as old as the culprits was there, looking at them fiercely. He warned the others that he would kill them if they dared to touch them again._

_Then he helped Ruki and Kai to stand up, he squatted before them and wiped their bleeding noses and tears with his dirty sleeve. He then gently told the little boys to stay with him. Ruki and Kai were still shaking, both from the fear and pain they'd had, but also from the cold that was biting at their fragile skins. They thanked him with sobs in their voices and Kai asked him shyly why he'd helped them. The boy said Ruki looked like his little brother._

_The tears in his eyes were enough for them to not ask further questions about this little brother. Then the tall boy blinked several times to chase the tears away, and he smiled sadly at them. « Name's Tora. » They smiled back at him, and said their names before they all settled back in the corner of the cage, but this time they were three to share the little warmth they had. The two little boys closed their eyes then, their bodies still aching from the beating they'd just suffered, but thankful for the sense of protection Tora was offering them. They dozzed off soon after._

_Something was urging Ruki to open his eyes. It wasn't fear, no, more like a deep feeling twisting his guts, but not in a bad way. He didn't know the notion nor the name of this feeling though, being so young and not having any education. Later and older, the boy would think about it and say it was something like « anticipation ». He unwillingly opened his eyes._

_Two young mages, if their black robes were any indication, had approached the cage and were looking in their direction, scrutinizing them with a focused frown. The taller had black wavy hair that fell freely around his face. He was unshaved, and had dark and serious, but fond, eyes. The other was short, had black hair with a weird undercut. His almost childish features could have make him pass for a teenager of some some sorts. That is, until you properly saw his eyes. They were so deep, sharp and piercing, they alone made the man look utterly intimidating and quite scary._

_They began to excitedly whisper to each other. That's when the taller asked their seller if Kai and Ruki were brothers, and Ruki could feel, oddly so, that the answer he was expecting was a yes. Their buyer didn't really gave a damn about them, and he replied that the boys could be whatever the hell the Mages wanted them to be, brothers or cousins or whatever. The tallest mage glared at the seller with a blank and stern face at those words, but in the meantime the shorter had approached the cage, and he suddenly locked eyes with Ruki. A weird staring contest began between the two of them, and the little boy soon could detect a knowing glint in the man's dark orbs._

_Ruki somehow understood then, that what he would say and what the man would believe would have the power to change his life, and Kai's, too. This strange man and his weirdly threatening stance frightened him, sure, but something strong was pushing him towards him. He stood up bravely, shaking both Tora and Kai out of their sleepy state. The two boys rubbed at their eyes to see Ruki walk to the cage bars, and threw a questioning look at each other. Kai shrugged shyly, he was used to follow wherever his friend went, he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Tora shrugged too, and they stood up to join the little boy there. Ruki was staring at the strange man, and as soon as Kai was standing beside him, he laced their fingers together, raising their joined hand as if to show the mage._

_« Brother. »_

_The eyes of the mage widened, and he smiled, the action making him look younger and less scary._

_« Him, too »._

_Ruki had caught Tora's wrist in his other hand, making the tall boy stare at him with a surprised face._

_The two men exchanged a look, whispered things at each other again, and the shortest one nodded slightly. Their seller was glaring at the kids, fully knowing that they weren't the brothers they claimed to be, but not saying a word when he understood that maybe it would help him to get rid of the three of them for a good amount of money._

_The two mages and the seller discussed over the price for some minutes, and the three boys were finally released from the cage. The two mages looked at them for a few seconds, then the taller seemed to realize how cold and weak they were._

_« No need to linger here. We'll come back in a month for the next sale, now let's take these kids to the Coven. The Headmaster would have our heads if we spent money in sick kids or if we had them dying from pneumonia or something before they could be useful. Follow us, boys. »_

_His tone wasn't exactly warm, but it didn't sound mean or cruel neither. As an habit they would keep for their whole life from then on, Tora and Kai followed Ruki, never letting go of each others's hands._

_The two mages brought the children to a wooden cart where they sat, stuck to each others amongst barrels of flour and wine, and boxes of all sorts. The short scary man moved some of the boxes away before they went, and stopped when he found what he was looking for. A thick blanket._

_He threw it to the boys._

_« Here, kids. It isn't clean and it probably stinks since this is the horse's blanket, but it will keep you warm until we get there. Please be kind and don't let your fleas infest it ! » He stared at them sternly, and the kids didn't answer, too shy to dare a reply. The mage shook his head with a small curl of his lips and winked. « Just kidding . Now relax.»._

_Their new life began then._

_On the way to wherever the two men were taking them, Tora and Kai were soon fast asleep, rocked by the hypnotic rolling of the cart, more warm than they'd been since long. Ruki, however, was trying to catch what he could from the conversation between the mages._

_«... It's crazy. It's usually so hard to find a single kid with a spark of Potential ! » The short man was holding the reins, talking in a law voice, but Ruki could feel the underlying excitement in his words. « But here, three boys ! That's such an unbelievable luck, honestly... »_

_The other mage nodded._

_« You're right, that's pretty incredible. But don't get your hopes too high, okay ? You only saw Potential in two of them. You said you couldn't detect anything about the older one, right ? »_

_« Hmm. But if they're brothers, he will probably develop some later. He's probably a late one. And even if he doesn't, well, he'll have to leave when he'll reach twelve years old, but anyway the other two litteraly... There's so much energy emanating from them... I could feel it from so far... These two are something else, for sure. »_

_Ruki was slowly drifting to sleep, wondering what the « potenzal » they were talking could be. It didn't sound bad, though, and the little boy briefly thought that maybe this « potenzal » could help them to have something to eat. Before completely falling asleep, he hoped he would remember to thank the horse for lending them his blanket._


	6. The Black Moon Coven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, guys, here's chapter six! To be honest, I was a bit blocked at some point, and, even if I already have most of the plot in my end (and also the end, which is quite an important thing to figure out in a story ;) ) I didn't feel any urge to write it. Well, I haven't recieved that many feedback for this story and I didn't really know if people were still interested or followed it at all, so I kinda took my time to have my inspiration back. Funny enough, because as I was resuming my writing I received a comment from someone who loved the story and it motivated me to write more ;) So special thanks to Lendelpilar for their kind words! I should be able to update a bit more often from now on...
> 
> So, let's get back where we stopped, His Highness Ruki was telling Prince Reita the story of their lives...

_The little boys were awoken when the cart stopped. It took them a few minutes to come back to reality, and the two men unloaded their boxes and barrels before coming back to take them. They were taken to a warm huge room with big walls of stone. There were several big long wooden tables, with benches around. The taller man made them sit side by side at a smallest table near the fireplace, where a fire was happily crackling. He then sat in front of them, and waited for his shorter companion to come back with three bowls of steaming soup and some rice._

_The children looked at each others in awe. A warm room AND soup ? AND rice ? Did they just die and went to heaven ?_

_The tall man smiled at their stunned expressions._

_« Go on, boys. It's for you. »_

_The two men stared at them silently while they were eating messily and hungrily, and when they were almost done with their meal, he resumed talking._

_« So, I think we could use some proper introducion. I'm Kaoru-sensei, and this is Kyo-sensei. You've just been brought at the Black Moon Coven. Here, we do all sort of stuff. We cultivate our food, breed horses, sheeps and cows, and poultry, too. We cook, and do all kind of chores. But what takes most of our time, though, is studying and learning. We study Dogma, and learn to use our capacities at their best. You probably don't know it, but some of us are born with special skills and- »_

_« Potenzal » Ruki murmured, as if what the man was saying just enlightened something for him._

_« Potential. Yes. »_

_Kaoru exchanged an intrigued look with Kyo, while Tora and Kai seemed confused, not having any idea of what their friend was talking about._

_« Kyo-sensei and I are sent by the Coven to find new mages to train, and mages can only be found amongst those who have Potential. And this morning, we found you. Some of you seem to have a good amount of Potential, and that's why we brought you there. From now on, you'll be our apprentices. We'll teach you everything you need to know in order to develop your skills properly, and in exchange you'll have to take your share of chores and such, and to obey whatever we would ask you to. »_

_« Will we have soup sometimes ? » Kai blushed deeply, his shy voice echoing in the room._

_Kyo burst into laughter, and Kaoru replied with fondness._

_« Boy, you'll have a proper meal three times a day. »_

_« Three times a day... » Kai repeated with awe._

_These men could ask him whatever they wanted him to do, and even keep on talking about weird things just like they just did, if it meant three meals per day he would agree to anything._

_« And... Could we sleep with the horse, maybe ? He probably wouldn't care much if we shared his blanket, right ? » Tora asked hopefully._

_Kyo and Kaoru made a face then, and Tora feared he'd overstepped the boundaries._

_« -or not. Please forget what I asked, I didn't- »_

_« Listen, here you'll have to share a room. They're not big, but they all have futons and blankets in there. No need to steal the horse's one. But before going to your room, you'll have to be clean. We are a bit picky on hygiene, here, because it's the basis of a good health. So now, it's bath time. »_

_They'd been taken to a smallest room, and each one of them had to get rid of the ratty rags they used to call clothes, before they were asked to bath. They were given some soap by Kaoru, and he left. The boys soaked in the warm water for as long as they were allowed, the soothing effect against their bruised skin and the memory of the cold they'd been suffering from making their first experience of a bath feel like heaven._

_Then a man came in the bathroom. He was thin and tall, had nice features and a very soft voice._

_« Hello, boys. I'm Shinya-sensei. I brought you towels, and some new clothes, and I will help you to wash properly. Maybe we will cut some hair, too, sometimes it's easier than having to detangle. »_

_Tora was the first to go out of the bath and through the man's inspection. He was quickly sent back in the water too, with the order to rub harder with the soap._

_Kai was allowed to dry himself up and to get the new clothes on. It was a simple long beige tunic with matching pants, and they also had woolen socks. To Kai it looked like the outfit of a King._

_Shinya had to go to help Ruki, whose little chubby hands weren't efficient enough. When he was finally out of the bath, the man envelopped him in a large towel and helped him to dry, while Tora was drying himself too. Once they were all fully clothed, Shinya brushed their hair. Tora's was very short, so it didn't need any care. Kai's was so tangled, Shinya didn't have any choice but to cut it short too, which made Kai tear up a bit. Tora took pity of the little boy, and he caught his hand._

_« Hey » He spoke softly. « It suits you. You're really cute like that. » And it was all it took to bring back a smile on Kai's lips._

_Ruki's hair too was in a bad state, but Shinya managed to cut less, and he attached it in a cute ponytail with a leather tie. Then he watched the three little boys fondly, smiling broadly._

_« Here you go cuties. Welcome to Black Moon Coven. »_

_During the days that followed, the boys were mostly left to themselves._

_Kaoru-sensei had explained them that they would be left wandering around, in order to get used to the place and to the local customs. They explored the fields, the stables, the study rooms, everywhere they could go they went._

_They also slept a lot. They'd been given a small room for themselves. The place could only contain four futons, and that's pretty much all they had in there, if you excepted the four wooden boxes which were supposed to contain their personal belongings. As they had none, the boxes were left in a corner of the room, and the three of them slept cuddled with each others, for the first time ever in their life warm, cozy and safe. They ate happily, never believing their luck when they were called by the huge bell of the Coven's temple tower bell in the dining room._

_There were a few other kids, but they all had already begun their classes. And most of them were much older, and already had their own little groups, anyway._

_Sometimes Kaoru-sensei or Kyo-sensei would come to join them on their explorations, observing them closely, giving them advices, and they never went mad at them for asking questions or for their actions. The boys were very cautious to behave, though, they didn't want to disappoint or to anger their tutors, and risk being thrown back in the streets were they belonged not so long ago._

_Ruki was always leading the three of them, and after several days, they'd already established a routine. In the morning, after a hearty breakfast, they would go to the stables, visit the sheeps, cows and horses, they would marvel at tne birth of ducklings and chicks, and they would play with the stray cats and dogs that used to hang around the Coven, knowing that there would always be some well-meaning soul to give them things to eat._

_Indeed, Ruki was quick to think about stealing leftovers from their plates to give to the starving animals, and he'd quickly learnt to tame the grumpy cook with a shy smile and an expecting look, earning the right to salvage the food scraps for his little animal friends._

_Then they would join the gardeners, and Kai would listen carefully to everything that would be said. He was so surprised, learning that there were some things you could actually grow to eat ! That was a thing he wanted to know, because they had suffered so much from hunger back then at the shelter, and he figured that if he knew how to do this, he would never experience this pain again, and he would never have to see his friends suffer from it. The gardeners also liked the litlle boys and their enthusiasm a lot, and they usually ended their time there with a reward for the little help they'd given, sometimes an apple, sometimes a carrot, and they always were overjoyed. When the gardeners told him that there were also plants that could heal, Kai was sure of this : he wanted to learn everything. Ruki and Tora also enjoyed the time spent in the garden, and most of all they liked to see Kai's shining eyes when he learnt something new._

_Usually, Ruki would choose to let Kai and Tora amongst the gardeners after a moment there with them, and would rather follow Die, the herborist of the Coven, in his lab. If his friends didn 't mind getting their hands dirty, planting, sewing and pulling weeds, the youngest had developped in a very short span of time a great love for everything clean and ordered, and the Coven's lab was the perfect definition of it. It was a large room, built in front of the huge gardening area, and one of Ruki's favorite place in the whole Coven. It smelled good, thanks to the many plants Die hang there to dry, and there were numerous shelves with tons of jars containing mysterious liquids, powders, roots, and even some with creepy things like dead snakes, frogs, or newts soaked in formalin. There were also books, with illustrations and recipes, and Ruki was fascinated. For now he could only enjoy to look at the drawings and diagrams, but he really hoped he could be clever enough to one day learn to read and understand all the things hiding there in the pages of those wonderful spellbooks._

_Tora followed everywhere, letting Ruki decide and lead them without even thinking about it. The oldest boy never questioned any of the decision his two friends (well, brothers) could come with. He felt so incredibly thankful for being taken with them, and he perfectly knew that if Ruki hadn't caught his hands back there in the cage, he would have been left there to rot. Plus, for the first time in his life he didn't feet threatened, he didn't have to show that he was stronger or to fight in order to be safe or to eat. He then gladly let his peaceful self to resurface, a thing he hadn't done in a long time, and was content enough to just go with the flow, just interfering if he thought things could put his new friends (brothers, ok) in danger or in bad situations. He was wise and quiet, and had come to love the two youngest boys the way he loved his little brother, and the only thing he was now sure of was that he would give his own life to protect them if the necessity arose one day. That's why he took special interest in spending times training with the men of the Coven and their fencing master, Toshiya, when they were practising martial arts and fighting skills, wanting to learn how to use the bow, or the sword and the spear and to use his strenght properly for hand to hand combat._

_Kyo and Kaoru were quite satisfied with their new apprentices, happy to know that they'd been right to bring them there seeing that they enjoyed the beginning of their new life in the Coven, and that the brothers got along so well, too. It would have been such a deceit to have to watch kids that would have fought endlessly._

_The boys liked to spend time in their company, too, and it made the mages happy. Shinya told them one evening after diner that they would soon have to attend actual classes, and the boys were overjoyed. They all badly wanted to be a part of the community, and they were eager to learn everything that would make them able to do so._

_The day after, the boys were called by Kyo after their morning activities in Shinya's infirmary. Kaoru and Shinya were obviously there, and Die and Toshiya too. There was also the gardener, Haruto._

_« Boys, it's time for you to know a bit more of what is going on here and how you're going to be a part of this coven. »_

_Kai and Ruki exchanged a grin at these words._ Finally.  _They were very eager to know more, and to actually take their roles in the community, wanting to repay their teachers for their kindness._

_« We've watched you evolve and interact amongst us since you've been brought here, and, even if it's still too early to know exactly what will be the final shape, if we can say so, of your Potential, we have some clues about it. So we decided that we were going to help you to express better your capacities from now on, even if you're the youngest of all the apprentices here. From now on, you're all going to attend classes in the morning. You'll have to join the other kids and learn to write and read and count, learn about history and nature science, and I'm sure you'll do great there because you're three smart little boys. I'd very much recommend you to get-up early so that you can keep on following your usual routine, which is for the best for everybody. As for specific teaching, though, you won't follow the same classes. »_

_Kai shot Tora and Ruki an anxious look. Tora caught his hand and squeazed it, smiling softly. Shinya didn't miss it, and was quick to reassure._

_« Don't worry, though, you'll be able to find your friends as soon as these lessons will end, I promise. And you will keep your room as it is, the three of you. But this way, it will also allow you to grow apart from each other, which is for the best considering that some of you have the tendency to follow the one who has the strongest personality without thinking. » He added with a wink. « We want you all to be great mages, and for this you'll have to learn to speak for youself and fight for your opinions. Some of us are prone to do it more often than not- »He gave a pointed look to Kyo who looked a bit offended « -but at the end of the day we all should be able to defend what we think is right, even if the ones we love most don't agree. That's how strong leaders should be. »_

_He paused and sipped a bit from the cup of tea he'd been holding._

_« So, let's do this. We're going to begin with Tora, first, because it's the easiest one. » Shinya stopped talking with a gentle smile._

_« Tora, dear. You haven't developped any kind of Potential. » Tora made a face and avoided the mage's eyes, looking shamefully at his feet and knowing perfectly that the mage was only stating the truth. « Yet. » The mage added, wanting Tora to feel better._

_« You still have time, though, and some of us have been late to develop it too, so there's no worry about it for now. For what we could guess, you're around eight years old, which leaves you a good four years ahead to make your Potential grow. That's plenty of time. So, as I already said, there's no need to worry, you have other things to focus on. » He smiled, and Tora didn't felt so bad anymore._

_« We all saw the great interest and seriousness you showed to the learning of fighting skills and weapons. We all know that you're doing much progress and we're aware of all the efforts you make, there and also in the fields to help with the cattle and such. We're very proud of you. That's why, in the afternoon, we will leave you to the special care of Toshiya sensei, who will keep on teaching you his speciality. And after, just before you'll come back to your friends,and depending on the seasons, you'll help at the fields or you will learn how to become a hammersmith. Our community is still small, and we need men with numerous skills.Do you agree with our proposal ? I mean, you still have the right to tell us if something doesn't feel appropriate to you, that's a part of defending your point of view, too. »_

_Tora shook his head._

_« I'd very much like to learn everything you offer me, Sensei. Thank you so much. » And he bowed, making all the adults in the room smile proudly. Yes, Kyo and Kaoru had indeed been right when they'd brought these three kids on._

_« Ruki, now. » It was Kyo's turn to talk. Shinya resumed to drink his tea. « We've all seen how you like to take care of the animals, here. And it occured to us that said animals were in better health than ever, that even the small diseases they seemed to suffer from, from time to time, had decreased since you're here. This, and the special interest you seem to take in everything about spells, potions, remedies and such, made us think that your Potential was probably about healing and spelling. So from now on, you'll be under Die's and Shinya's care. They'll teach you all the things you're already passionate about, and many more. »_

_Ruki couldn't repress from clapping his hands childishly. Eh, he was only a little kid, right ?_

_« Anything to say ? » Kyo asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy sternly._

_Ruki shook his head and looked at Tora before he imitated clumsily the bow the older boy had done before. It was so cute even Kyo had to smile._

_« As for you, Kai, » Kaoru began, « we don't really know where to begin. » The crestfallen look on the young boy's face made Kaoru react quickly. « Ah, no, don't misunderstand me. You seem to have a whole lot of things that your Potential could be about. And it's not easy to choose between all these. Your Halo is so bright, and it's so iridescent, we're sure you'll have strong powers in more than one area. But it's also very unstable, you know, it shifts between calm to stormy and from a color to another according to your moods, and we won't be able to guess properly until it decides itself on what it will give its force to. For now, we agreed to choose for you things that we know you enjoy doing and seem to care about, and we'll have to adjust eventually to what your Potential ask when it will be fully revealed, what do you think ? So you'll be under the care of Die with Ruki to learn things about potions and plants, and you'll also keep on learning in the fields with Tora how to grow this or that, too. What do you think ?»_

_Kai looked relieved. He would have hate to be a disappointment of some sorts to the mages. He was so incredibly thankful to be able to live in this place, and he was probably the most happy little boy on Earth since he'd been brought to the Coven. He bowed too, and said in a shaky voice_

_« I am sorry my Potential is so messy. I will do my best to not be a burden and I promise to work hard to achieve any goal you have for me. »_

_His words earned him a fond « Aww » from Shinya, and a matching grin on the other Mages' faces. The six men were aware that these three little boy would for sure bring many changes in their Coven's future, but they had no idea how important these changes would be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't stress more the fact that yes, comments are indeed the only way for us to know that our stories are worth being written :) Don't be shy! Thank you for reading. <3


	7. The one who should be saved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update because why not^^? I've been looking forward this new chapter for quite a long time now, it is important as we can have a glimpse of Takanori's Potential, and we can expect the arrival of a new character...

_They were at the Coven since a little bit more than one month when Ruki woke up with the same feeling he'd had back then in the cage on their last day there. It was early, like very early, the moon was still high in the sky and the night was still dark. But he knew deep inside him that he had things to do, even if he hadn't the slightest clue of what it was he had to do. Weird._

_He shook his friends, to no avail. Tora and Kai were deeply asleep, and they wouldn't wake up. Huffing an annoyed sigh, and stomping his feet a bit (he was still just a little boy after all) Ruki decided then to let them sleep and to go to see if he could find whatever was keeping him on the edge. He left their room silently and headed to the living room. The place was silent end empty. But he could see light from under the door that separated the room from the kitchen, and something in his mind told him that it was where he was meant to go._

_When he slightly opened the door, three pair of eyes looked at him in surprise. Kaoru-sensei, Kyo-sensei and Shinya-sensei all had a bowl of steaming soup before them. They were already in their work clothes, and a basket with some take-out food was ready next to them._

_« Ruki ? What are you doing here in the middle of the night ? Do you feel sick or anything ? »_

_Shinya's tone was concerned._

_Ruki shook his head and bit his bottom lip, a bit flustered._

_« Oh, no. It's just... » He paused, looking at the three young men with apprehension. Would they be mad at him if he explained them that he had no idea why he was here in the first place, but that he knew that he had to be ? He decided that he had to tell them, though, because first, they'd never really been mad at anything they could have done since they were living here, and second, the thing in his guts was too hard to ignore. « I don't know. I felt I had to come here, and now I feel like I have to go with you... Even if I don't know where you are going. This is what woke me up. »_

_Kaoru and Kyo looked at each other, confused. Ruki was always surprising them, having strong convictions about things that he didn't knew anything about, or having deep intuitions only his potential could explain. Shinya was quick to reassure the little boy, who seemed scared and at the verge of tears at their lack of reaction._

_« It's okay, Ruki-kun. Kaoru-sensei and Kyo-sensei were about to go at the fair again, just like when they found you there. If you feel like you have to go there, we trust you, and you will go. But before, you have to have a decent breakfast and to wear warm clothes because it's cold outside, right ? »_

_And half an hour after, Ruki found himself bundled up in a warm blanket, his belly full, stuck between his two sensei and heading for the fair. Before they went, though, he'd asked Shinya-sensei to reassure his friends. He didn't want them to worry. Then he'd fallen asleep, his head resting on Kyo's arm._

_When they arrived at the fair, something in Ruki's stomach twisted painfully. The smell of the place, and the noisy crowd, reminded him of the worse memories. Kaoru seemed to notice his discomfort, and he squeezed the little hand he was holding._

_« Hey, don't worry, okay ? Nobody will harm you, we're here to protect you. Now, just try to focus, and tell us if you feel something weird, right ? »_

_The little boy nodded thankfully. Indeed, if he pushed aside the uncomfortable feelings brought back by the ugly souvenirs he had from this place, he could feel something else, deeper, stronger, more urgent. The two men were leading him through the crowd, stopping here and there to buy either honey, cheese, wool, wine, or whatever they needed for the Coven. Kaoru even bought them some takoyaki, and Ruki couldn't believe his luck. He didn't eat all that was given to him, though, keeping some of it wrapped in a clean rag for his friends, earning a fond smile from Kaoru._

_He couldn't quite decipher why, but as they were reaching the last aisle of the fair, and Kaoru and Kyo were about to turn back, Ruki felt an overwhelming urge to go forward, towards the smelly and nasty cages where little kids were standing, their little chubby hands holding the bars. Ruki let go of Kyo's hand and got closer to the cage. A fat man was trying to haggle for a child who was curled up in one of the corner of the cage. The child wasn't more than skin and bones, wearing rags that were too small to cover his skin that showed up here and there, blue with the cold that was biting at it mercilessly. His thin legs and small feet were an ugly purple, and Ruki could not prevent himself from shivering in pain for the poor thing. But even in this miserable state, a glimmer seemed to emanate from the small body, to Ruki._

_« … she's almost gone already, I probably won't have value for the money I will give you. You should be thankful you can even get rid of her before she's dead. »_

_If Ruki wasn't that shocked about the unforgiving words the man uttered (he'd been in the cage before, he knew what kind of human beings showed up there more often than not), he stayed frozen on his spot as what was running through the fat man's mind was revealed through blurry flashes. The unspeakable things he wanted to do to the poor child, still alive and then dead, made him gag in horror, and he pressed his hands to his hears , squeezing his eyes shut to try to escape from these naughty images- and the screams, too. Kaoru and Kyo, who witnessed the little boy's panic and despair, rushed to him._

_« Ruki ? Ruki, are you okay ? »_

_« Ruki, please, tell us what's going on ? »_

_« We have to take him out of here ! It's him we're here for ! Please don't let this man touch him ! » Ruki was crying now, tears running down his round cheeks._

_Kaoru frowned and glared at the fat man, then he spotted the little child in the corner. He moved closer to the cage._

_«What even is that stupid kid saying ? » The fat man was looking at Ruki disdainfully. He took a few steps towards him, and the little boy didn't move, staring at him with accusing eyes. The man was about to catch Ruki's shoulder when Kyo moved, putting himself between the child and the fat man. Kyo was much smaller, but something in his eyes was burning so fiercely it forced the fat man to step back. He tried to throw a threatening glare to Kyo, but before he could utter a single word, Kaoru, who was still observing the child inside the cage, interrupted whatever insult he was about to say._

_« How much for this kid ? »_

_« Hey ! This girl is mine, I saw her first ! There are a lot of other healthy girls, just make your choice ! »_

_« He's a boy! And you won't put a single finger on him !» Ruki shouted._

_« Whatever he is, I still saw him before you ! And I suggest you to shut your mouth, little shit ! »_

_Kyo caught the fat man's wrist before he could hit the little boy._

_« Ruki. Shut up. As for you, I suggest you to not tempt me, I already have the urge to punch you in the face right now. »_

_Kaoru interrupted them again._

_« How much for this kid ? I'll give you twice his price. »_

_The seller was too happy to give a price. Indeed, the little boy was very sick, but he'd rather see him dying in the cage than giving up on him for too less money. The opportunity he was given now was too good to be true. He decided to act smart enough and to not ask for too much, knowing he would hit the jackpot anyway._

_Kaoru didn't lose any time to pay, and the seller took the frail body from the ground to put it in Kyo's arms. The fat man was angry, but he finally did recognized Kaoru and Kyo for what they were, and he knew better than to rile mages up. He spat on the ground with as many despise as he could show, and was beginning to leave when he felt a little hand gripping his forearm._

_« What the hell ? »_

_Ruki had caught his wrist and was looking at him intensely, seemingly focused on something. The man stayed confused for a few seconds, and Ruki let his arm go before he could say anything, a bitter curl twisting his lips. He turned back to his sensei, who were wrapping the poor little boy in Kaoru's cape, and they began to walk towards their cart. But not quickly enough to miss the fat man colapsing face first on the frozen ground, dead. Kaoru and Kyo exchanged a worried look but quickened their pace, while Ruki was totally ignoring the ruckus caused by the fall of the fat man, choosing to focus on the little hand that was falling from Kaoru's cape instead, holding it tight._

_Ruki hadn't wanted to leave the child's side. When they arrived at the Coven, at the end of the afternoon, he helped Shinya, who'd been asked in emergency, to bathe and warm him, Shinya brushing the long golden strands of the poor creature after while Ruki was coating him with an antiseptic ointment. The child had many frostbites and infected cuts, and the only sound he made was weak moans of pain. He didn't open his eyes once, and didn't regain consciousness. He was installed at the Coven's infirmary then, under the softest and warmest blankets, and Shinya made some mix of herbs burn at the bedside table. Tora and Kai, who'd been worried when they didn't find Ruki laying next to them in the morning, were allowed for a few minutes in the infirmary. They caught Ruki in a tight hug, and after he'd given them the takoyaki he'd brought back from the fair, he asked them to take care of each other while he would stay next to the new child._

_« We have to save him. I don't know why, but I know it's important. »_

_The two little boys nodded, both confused by Ruki's conviction, but knowing better than making any doubt on his words. They agreed to find each others on the next morning for their daily routine, and left after another hug with kicked puppy faces._

_Kaoru entered the room soon after, and took a sit next to Ruki's. The little boy was still holding the wounded child's hand, seemingly deep in thoughts._

_« Hey, Ruki. Thank you for helping with this poor kid. »_

_Ruki shrugged, looking a bit defeated._

_« I don't know... If he'll be okay... If it will change something for him. If I wasn't too late to find him. »_

_Kaoru narrowed his eyes thoughtfully._

_« Can you... Can you tell me exactly what that was all about ? I mean... Is he the reason why you wanted to come this morning ? Did you know him ? »_

_Ruki shook his head sadly._

_« No. But yes, I think he's why I had to come. I think he's important. For us, and for the Coven, too.» He paused. « Did you see... the thing that shone around him ? »_

_« The Halo. Yes. I saw it too. »_

_Ruki let out a relieved sigh._

_« Good. I thought I was the only one who could see it. And I thought only Kai had it. Kai's glimmer is so intense.»_

_Kaoru smiled fondly._

_« Actually, only children with Potential have it. It disappears with puberty, for most of us. You have a pretty nice Halo too, you know ? A bit less shiny than Kai's, but still impressive, for your young age. »_

_Ruki looked surprised._

_« Is that how you decided to take us here ? »_

_Kaoru nodded slowly._

_« Yes. But there's another thing I wanted to ask you about, boy. At the fair, this morning... the man who wanted to buy this boy- »_

_« This bastard. »_

_« Well, yeah, if you want, this bastard. Tell me, Ruki. I'd like to know if you have anything to do with his death. »_

_Ruki lowered his gaze. He should have known that he wouldn't get out of this without being questionned. He sighed._

_« The images in his head... of what he was going to do to him... even when he would be dead... It was so disgusting, so brutal. » Ruki began to cry softly. «We were going to save this boy, but there would have been others you know ? Others who wouldn't have the chance to escape him. There had already been so many of them, before. When I had a glimpse of what was in his mind, I had no other way to make him stop than this... » Sobs were making it difficult for the little boy to talk. « Please, don't cast me out, I promise I won't do it again... »_

_Kaoru was at loss about what to say. He was so conflicted about this situation. First, he'd never believed that Ruki had that kind of control over his power. He was so young, and he'd never been taught how to use his abilities. Hell, he didn't even know what his abilities were, to begin with. Of course, as a teacher, and as a Dogma disciple, Kaoru was forced to condemn the use of magic to damage somebody's life. Then, obviously, there was no other way to make the fat man stop whatever monstrosities he was planning to hurt the kids with. Ruki had taken the only chance he got to render him harmless. And he knew that the little boy would probably carry the guilt of his actions for the rest of his life. The sight of the little boy so distressed helped him to make up his mind._

_« Listen, Ruki. Don't cry. There's no way we're going to chase you, you hear me ? You did what you thought was good, and honestly I can't blame you for this. But I can't agree neither, because nobody has the right to use magic to make his own justice, do you understand ? Even if the world is far better without this terrible man, it's not up to you to decide this, right ? So, there’s this : this incident will stay just between you, Kyo-sensei, Shinya-sensei, and I. We won't talk about it ever again, right ? And if you feel like doing this again, for a reason or another, I will ask you to come talk to one of us about it. Do we have a deal ? »_

_Ruki stopped crying, nodding enthusiastically._

_« Good. Now forgive me, but I'm a bit curious... What did you do to this man ? »_

_Ruki frowned._

_« I... I just tried to imagine what was in his head. I mean, not the images, you know, more like... What was really there. And I saw thin red pipes, they looked a bit like wisps of straw, but red. I imagined them being cut, and that was it. »_

_Kaoru whistled lowly. Goddammit. This kid was really something. They would have to teach him right and to help him to understand the world and grow in harmony with it. In the wrong hands, this boy would be a deadly weapon._

_« Oookay. Well, let's no do this again. » Kaoru inhaled deeply, before he decided to change the topic. Too disturbing, really. « We should head up for diner, what do you think ? »_

_Ruki was wiping his nose with the back of his hand, which made Kaoru scrunch his nose, and hand him a handkerchief. The little boy shook his head after he'd finished to clean his face._

_« I'd rather not leave him. I feel like... Like he needs me here ? »_

_Kaoru nodded._

_« Okay, I'll have someone bring your meal here. »_

_Later that night, when Shinya went to check on the rescued kid, he found Ruki under the blankets, curled up against the thin little body, both soundly asleep. He smiled and left the room silently after he got sure that the new child's temperature was okay and that he didn't look in pain._

_He regretted it on the next morning though. As soon as he stepped in the infirmary, he saw that something was wrong. The new child's skin was less pale, less bruised, but Ruki... Ruki's face was so, so white, he had big dark circles under his closed eyes, and his cheeks were so hollow... And Shinya couldn't wake him up. The two kids were holding hands, tightly, and Kaoru's words about what had happened the day before came back to Shinya's mind._

_« I should have known better. » He finally succeeded in detangling the little fingers from each others, and didn't wait before he put Ruki in a separate bed._

_« So, basically, Ruki tried to heal this kid the same way he killed the man at the fair. » Kaoru said, wearing a deep frown._

_« Basically, yes. » Shinya had called his two friends as soon as he'd installed Ruki. He was leaning against the wall between the beds of the two children._

_« Well... I think we really have to have that talk with him as soon as he's healthy again. Because... He's going to be okay, right ? » Kyo was standing next to Ruki's bed, suddenly concerned._

_« I think he will. But not before three or four days, I'm afraid. He almost killed himself while healing the other boy. »_

_«It's not like we don't have a pretty clear idea of what these boys' abilities are, actually. We first assumed that it would take us ages to discover, but they haven't ceased to surprised us. Except for Tora, though, who hasn't shown anything as far as Potential is concerned, but is still very eager to learn about everything. »_

_«He is. And he still has time to develop a form of Potential, too. We leave the kids under your care, Shinya, as always you are doing wonders. But you'll probably have to deal with two more children, since Kai and Tora are waiting outside to see their brother. I guess you'll have to explain them the situation before they freak out... » Kyo waved at Shinya before he left the room, followed by Kaoru._

_Obviously, Kai and Tora were worried and didn't want to leave the infirmary, so Shinya had to make a deal with them. They would have to follow the same routine they did when Ruki was with them in the mornings, and then Shinya would allow them to spend their whole afternoon next to Ruki's bed. He'd figure that he would try to teach them how to read then, and was quite happy to realize that the boys were as smart as he'd imagined. The following days passed rather quickly, and it wasn't long before Ruki opened groggily his eyes at the end of the third afternoon, much to his « brothers » and teachers relief._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will actually meet this new little boy next time. Of course you already guessed who he is, right? Leave a comment if you feel like it! Thanks for reading!


	8. The one who lacked Potential

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope there are still people waiting for an update around here ;) Here's chapter 8, hope you'll like it. The good news is, I have already two more chapters almost ready, so with a bit of luck it won't take me too long to deliver another one! Enjoy!

The night was pitch-dark outside, and Ruki stopped talking, looking at Reita with questionning eyes.

« So, Your Majesty, maybe you'd like to sleep now ? I mean, we're in the middle of the night, and- »

The Prince interrupted him, shaking his head.

« Hu-hu. I'm far from knowing everything about what's happening here, and you haven't even introduced the little boy you saved that day. I really want to know more, and I really like the way you tell this story. I can't wait to hear more ! Err... Unless you need to have some rest, that is. »

Reita was smiling a bit shyly, and Ruki smiled back. He very much preferred when Reita wasn't trying to strangle him, indeed.

« I don't, I'll probably toss and turn in my bed anyway if I try to have some sleep right now. Okay, let's keep on digging old memories. But before, maybe you'd like some more milk? Because I do. »

Reita nodded enthusiastically, and the High Priest filled their mug once more. He rummaged through several jars in the cupboard above the stove with a focused frown, and Reita was about to ask what was the problem when Ruki's face lit up and he looked at him, wriggling his eyebrows.

« This is where Kai's hiding his famous hazelnuts cookies ! They're to die for ! » He came back to his armchair, putting on Reita's bedside table their mugs of milk and the precious jar. « Help yourself, Your Majesty ! Okay, where was I... »

And he resumed talking, not really telling a story now, more like remembering facts from his childhood...

Like how the new little boy had come to share their room as soon as he'd been able to leave the infirmary. It had been like they'd always waited for him to come, actually. The boy was quite shy, and mute for some time, too. Shinya said he thought it was only an effect of the almost-death experience the little boy had had, and he was right. It took the child quite some time but at last, he began to utter some words, here and there, the first one being Ruki's name one day where they all were having breakfast in the huge dining room. They were sitting at the table, all rejoicing because Gohan-san, the cook, had prepared pancakes for all the kids. Ruki had been extatic then, repeating again and again that he loved pancakes so much, making Kai mock him fondly. Ruki had stuck his tongue out at him with a smile, - « and of course I love pancakes much more than I love you Kai-kun because you're so annoying! »- and they'd all been startled when a soft and low « Ruki ?» had escaped the little mute boy's lips. He was looking at the youngest with a fond look and a shy smile, offering him his own pancakes' plate.

Or how the poor kid had neither clear memories from his previous life, nor name he could remember, (again, probably due to the traumatism he'd had, according to Shinya). Kyo and Kaoru had asked the child to think about it, to try to choose a name he'd like, but the little kid had looked utterly panicked at the idea. He'd run to their shared room and went to sit in a corner, where his three new friends had found him not long after, tears running on his cheeks. When they'd sat near him on the ground, trying to understand what was upsetting him that much, the kid had just pointed a finger to the three of them one after the other. « Tora... Kai... Ruki » he'd said softly. And then he'd pointed his finger at his chest, had frowned, shrugged and shook his head with distress written on his lovely features. The three friends had looked at each other with a pained expression. And suddenly Ruki had turned to the crying child. « Uruha. » He'd said. The little boy had looked at him with a questionning look, his cheeks still wet with tears. « Uruha. » Ruki had said with more confidence. « You're so pretty, that suits you so well ! » 

From then on, the little boy had begun to talk more often, even if it would take him a bit longer to actually enjoy it. 

Uruha also suffered from night anxiety. He was used to wake the others up, screaming and crying, and they had to comfort and reassure him before he could go back to sleep, clinging on Ruki like he was a kind a life buoy. 

But, apart from being a traumatized child with a more than likely sinister back-story, Uruha was, above all, incredibly talented in everything he decided to put his mind on. He learnt to read very quickly, was curious about quite everything, and the brightness and purity of his Halo didn't even do his Potential any justice. According to the intensity of it, he would probably become a mage with nature related skills, an « elementalist » of some sorts, as other mages would call it. And, again, due to his tragic experience, he'd probably developp abilities in spiritism too, and their senseis were just looking forward to just how powerful and talented he would be once his Potential would have reached its maturity. Uruha was sure a young boy full of promises. 

Ruki's tone was nostalgic, and he had some kind of melancholic look when he talked about his friend. Reita found it heartwarming, and a bit annoying too, for some reason.

« You guys seemed to be closed friends, the four of you. And you seem to miss him a lot.Why didn't he came here with you ? »

« Ah, actually, Uruha's skills didn't disappoint, and he became our Great Mage quite early, he was the youngest mage to ever be recognized for such a high position in a Coven. And well, when we were forced to come here, someone had to take charge for us, and to take care of the Coven and our community. As Kai wouldn't let me go anywhere without following, and Tora would never accept to be separated from Kai even if he would never aknowledge it, we didn't have much of a choice. Uruha stayed there, and he's doing his best to make things work, even if he probably hates everything about being in charge. And yes, we do miss him a lot, not only me. I mean, we were inseparable from the moment he joined us. He was the missing piece of our own puzzle, I think. But it's okay, we try to stay in touch with a bit of telepathy and such. And I do hope that we will be able to find a solution to our issues soon, and to come back home. » The High Priest added, frowning a bit now that he was reminded of the seriousness of their situation.

« Err... » Prince Reita looked a bit sheepish all of a sudden. « I'd very much want to know about this, if you don't mind. I'm afraid I didn't really understand what's going on here appart that there are things at stakes that sound quite serious. What is actually happening here ? Why are you treated like prisonners when you should be treated with as much consideration than the King himself ? Who's this King I never heard of ? Oh, and when did Tora's potential grew ? I was going to forget this, but I have to admit that I'm very curious about it since you mentionned it several times. Can Potential grow suddenly ? How did it manifest with Tora ? »

Takanori chuckled, stiffling a yawn behind his hand.

« You weren't lying when you said you wanted to know everything, right ? Well, I'm afraid all these answers will have to wait a bit more- »he paused, looking at the Prince's disappointed pout with a soft smile, « Because I'm feeling quite tired now and I'm willing to take as much rest as I can whenever I feel the need to. I mean, I have to keep myself in shape if I have to fulfill the King's expectations. But I promise to answer each one of your questions in due time. And to keep you interested, here's one answer you didn't expect. You wanted to know when Tora's Potential revealed itself ? Well, very simple, it didn't. » And he smiled broadly at that, happy to see that his answer had the desired effect on Reita, who was looking at him with wide eyes. 

« Wait, what ? But, I thought- »

« I'm very aware that you like to think a bit too much, Your Majesty, but you'll have to wait a bit for more revelations. Do you need something more before I head up to my room ? »

Reita grinned a bit at the obvious delight the High Priest was taking at teasing him with unanswered questions. Ruki put the now empty jar back in the cupboard, and rinsed their mugs.

« Nah. I'm fine. Thank you, Your Grace, for telling me all this. I hope to learn so much more, and I do hope to be able to help you somehow. And thanks for the cookies too, they were delicious. Have a good night. »

« Good night, Your Majesty. Glad you don't want to kill me anymore.» The High Priest wrapped himself in his large wooden shawl and left silently, leaving Reita who was sure he couldn't sleep anytime soon, but fell in Morpheus' arms less then five minutes later.

There was too much noise in there, and too much light, too.

Reita opened his eyes groggily. It was probably way too early to wake up for him, and he didn't know why he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep despite the noise -Was it Kai singing along with a child ? Ah, Prince Shin was probably there, right- and the bright daylight that was coming from all of the windows, someone having opened the heavy curtains. He groaned lowly, and buried his head in his fluffly pillow, pulling his blanket over his head to come back to a much welcome darkness. Ah. Perfect. 

« No no no, Your Highness ! No way you're going to fall asleep again ! I have to maintain a semblance of discipline in this house, I swear ! Your sleep schedule is totally messed up, we need to come back to a normal life, otherwise you're going to turn into a vampire of some sort ! Right, Prince Shin ? »

The little boy replied eagerly.

« Very right, Kai-sempai. »

Reita was still buried under his blanket, but he could hear Kai's smile in his voice. 

« You're such a good assistant, Prince Shin ! Would you like to help me now and go to His Grace's door and knock until he replies ? Don't be afraid to knock strongly and to call loud, His Grace has a very deep sleep ! And while you'll be gone I'll prepare a delicious breakfast, okay ? »

Reita heard the little boy's footsteps echoing in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. He finally peeked his head from where he was hiding, his groggy look making Kai giggle.

« Good morning, Your Majesty ! Rise and shine ! Okay, maybe we could try to make you sit at the table with us, just for the breakfast time, what do you think ? I mean, you haven't gone out of bed for a while, and it would be good to proceed by small steps, so ?... » Reita was still a bit sleepy, but Kai's proposition sounded good, so he nodded wordlessly, but with a small grin. « Tora, please, can you come to help His majesty, we're going to sit him in the armchair with some cushion in his back. » And within a few minutes, Reita was comfortably installed at the end of the little table, Tora being at his right and Shin, back from waking Ruki up at his left, Kai by his side. That's where the High Priest found them, as they were ready to begin to eat Kai's breakfast. 

« Heyyy ! » a low whine escaped Ruki's mouth. « But ! That's my spot ! » He glared at Kai accusingly. « Why did you installed His Majesty in my armchair ? » Reita chuckled at that, Ruki, for once, looked perfectly like the very young person he was. 

Kai rolled his eyes in a good hearted way, trying hard to not smile.

« Oi. Don't act like a spoiled child ! First, there is only one comfortable armchair in this room, so I thought it was only normal that our injured Prince should have it. And then... Do I have to remind you that you're supposed to act according to your rank, Ru-chan ? »

Ruki made a face, both at the lecturing tone and the nickname.

« If I would really act according to my rank, you would be beaten for having talked to me so disrespectfully, you idiot. And besides, why the hell did you send this poor Prince Shin to wake me up so early ? I mean, you know I am not the more easy person to deal with in the morning, right ? »

Tora chuckled from where he was sitting, sipping his coffee.

« That was the point, Ruki. We did know that you would never harm a child, whereas you'd probably try to turn Tora and I into some kinds of hideous poisonned frogs if we dared to wake you up, right ? »

It was Ruki's turn to roll his eyes.

« Right. That's a thing I should have done long ago, at least like this you would finally be the cutest frog couple and would leave me alone. Why was it so important anyway for me to get up so early ? »

Tora choked a bit on his coffee at this words, and Kai cleared his throat before replying with a bit more sass than needed, probably to hide his embarrassment.

« Well, Your Grace, someone has to remember here that we are currently on a mission, and not on some kind of sleepover where you chat all night, get to drink an awful amount of milk and steal your friends cookies while they sleep like normal people are supposed to. » He arched an eyebrow sternly, challenging Ruki to answer, which he was reasonable enough not to do. Stealing cookies was a very serious crime in Kai's book, and Ruki knew that even his rank wasn't going to help him go through this without at least being scolded. He lowered his gaze with a pout.

« Hu... Sorry, Kai. I was just a bit hungry, and- »

« They were incredible. I never ate cookies that good, to be honest ! » Reita cut him. Kai's eyes, that were intensely glaring at Ruki the seconds before, turned to the Prince suddenly, his smile beaming and his eyes shining. 

« Really, Your majesty ? I feel flattered, and I'm glad you liked them ! I will probably make some more later then ! » 

Reita grinned sheepishly.

« Great ! But you know, I would never have known that your cookies were so good if His Grace hadn't shared with me last night, so don't be too harsh on him. Thanks to him I tasted heaven ! »

Kai burst into giggles, and Tora chuckled fondly, while Ruki was trying to hide a snort.

« Okay, Your Majesty. I see you learnt your diplomacy lessons well ! » Kai said when he was done laughing. « But seriously, now, I had to wake you both up because we have to find a normal schedule back, and neither you nor Ruki can afford to stay up that late all night. You're both recovering and we need you two as healthy as possible as soon as possible. You understand, right ? »

Ruki and Reita nodded. 

« So we're going to have our breakfast all together, then Tora will take Prince Shin to his sword lessons, I will go in the garden for a moment, and then I'll make more cookies. We will put you back in bed just after breakfast, I don't want you to exhaust yourself. His Grace will change your bandages and help you clean up, and then maybe he will be able to keep on telling you everything you should know. For now, who wants some tea ? »

Indeed, they followed Kai's plan, and now Reita was back in his bed, in freshly cleaned sheets and clothes, freshly washed and shaved, his bandages perfectly done, and he was a bit tired. But he was even more curious, and was waiting impatiently for the High Priest to come back from his room where he was getting ready for the day to come. Of course, Ruki hadn't left his room earlier in his mage's clothes, but he had nonetheless taken the time to at least tie his hair in a neat ponytail and was wrapped in his white shawl when he'd come to join them for breakfats. When he finally appeared again from his room, he was back in his High Priest attire, several heavy black robes paired with his pearl necklaces and various bracelets and rings. He'd also done his make-up, and Reita couldn't help but stare for a moment.

The High Priest looked beautiful. The thing was, Reita couldn't really pinpoint which Ruki he liked the most, the intimidating one, dolled up and dignified, powerful and with a dark kind of dangerous beauty, or the more human one, telling stories with a sincere voice and so many emotions, stealing cookies, showing his real side shyly, the pure and simple beauty of a young man who was probably tired to hide under his rank and duties. 

Nevermind. The Prince didn't even know where these thoughts were coming from. He was more than likely exhausted.

Ruki shrugged a bit moodily at Reita's stare.

« Hu. High Priests can't stay in peasant clothes, right ? It doesn't suit their rank, nor their complexion. » He said with a half hearted up-curling of his lips.

« Oh, if it's a question of complexion, I totally get it ! » Reita answered, earning a low chuckle he was kind of proud of. Ruki let himself plop in his beloved armchair unceremoniously.

« Okay, now, back to business. Are you ready ? What about learning everything about our Tora ?»

Reita nodded eagerly, and he was surprised as Ruki was leaning, catching his hands.

« We're gonna try something, Your Majesty. From what Kai told me, you somehow could see me in your dreams when I went back in time to when you and your squad got attacked. It's not common, and that's why I think you and I are probably compatible for telepathy. »

« We are ? » The Prince was asking expectantly. He had no idea why, but this was making his heart beat faster, and he liked how the words sounded in the High Priest's mouth. Ruki just smiled.

« I think so, but let's see if I'm right. I'm gonna take your hands, you're going to close your eyes and try to focus and maybe you're going to be a bit confused and disoriented, tell me if you don't feel okay, right ? »

And just like that, Reita's big hands got wrapped in the High Priest's smaller and warmer ones. He felt like he'd put his hands next to the fire, and it kinda tickled a bit. But he stayed still, trying to stay as calm and focused as possible, and suddenly images were appearing behind his eyelids.

There are three boys in the room. The tallest one, -Tora, Reita assumes- is sitting crossed-legs on his bed, sculpting a bit of wood with a tiny knife, a towel on his lap to avoid to put wood shaving everywhere. He's not a kid anymore, more of a lanky teenager, and not yet the built man he'll become but he's getting to it, Reita can say. The two others are laying on their belly on the same bed, seemingly reading the same book studiously. They're all dressed the same -beige tunic and trousers-. The smallest of them, who still has chubby cheeks and a ponytail high up his head, says something (Reita doesn't get it because he's still adjusting to this whole telepathic memory thing) with a shit eating grin, and the boy besides him burst into loud laughter, while Tora catches the giggles. The tall boy looks at his two youngest « brothers » with so much fondness, and his eye linger a bit on the still laughing boy, who's betrayed by his sunny wide smile. Kai looks back at him, and his grin softens. The moment doesn't last , though, since the youngest boy -Ruki, who hasn't changed that much, Reita can tell- says another thing that sends his brothers doubling in laughing again. They're barely recovering from their fit, Kai wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, when a fourth boy - long honey hair, angel face, long limbs and skinny frame- enters the room in a hurry, and slams the door shut behind him, leaning against it. His eyes are glistening with tears, and he pains to speak, stuttering with panic.

« Guys, we... We need... Oh my god- What are we gonna do?- We need to... Take your stuff, hurry up, we need to go !- Oh but where are we go-? - Oh my g- »

Kai is by his side in the minute, his hand coming at the small of the little boy's back, rubbing it softly. Ruki is sitting on his knees on the matress he was laying on before, frowning deeply, as Tora hasn't moved but looks at the new boy -Uruha, Reita guesses- who is still struggling to talk.

« Hey, U-chan, calm down, it's okay. Breathe in, breathe out... » Kai whispers, breathing in, and out, to show the boy, who's shaking his head frustratedly, tears beginning to fall.

« We have no time, we- we should be far away from here... As soon as possible, and- »

Ruki's gotten up, too, and now he's facing Uruha, worry written on his young features.

« Uru, we got it, you want us to go. But maybe you should first calm down and explain us, right ? If we have to go we will, I promise, but we can't leave in a panic without knowing why or who we're running away from. We need you to explain, okay ? Now breathe with Kai, and get yourself together. »

The boy seem to take a hold on himself then. He turns his face to Kai, who helps him breathe deeply -in and out, in and out- several times, before he inhales loudly a last time, and let himself sink on the floor, his back against the door.

« I was playing with the kittens in the garden, under Die-sensei's window. I wasn't there to eavesdrop, I swear, I just wanted to cuddle the kittens and that's where they were. But then I heard some voices, and I realized that Kyo-Sensei, Shinya-Sensei, Kaoru-Sensei and even Toshiya-Sensei were there too. I didn't pay much attention, because I was playing with the little white kitten, the one who looks like a fluffy cloud, you know ? And I must have done something that frightened him, because he scratched my hand, see? » Uruha was showing bleedy marks on his hand. « And maybe, Ru-chan, you'll have to put some ointment on it because it hurts and I've heard about people who caught infections from a cat scratch, so- where was I ? Ah yes- » Ruki and Kai exchange a look, half exasperated, half fond, at their friend's antics, « And so, the senseis were talking about something like the solstice celebration, and Shinya said that he'd received a howl from the master of the Great Temple, and some of the highest priest of Dogma will come to visit on this occasion, and inspect everything that our senseis have achieved, as it's been a long time since they last visited. Shinya-sensei seemed concerned, he said that these men were kinda strict with the rules and protocoles. They all sounded very upset with the news, and they said many things I didn't really understand... Until they talked about us. »

Now, Ruki is clearly concerned, too.

« What did they say about us ? »

« Actually, they were especially talking about Tora. They said that they were all aware that Tora hadn't developped any potential, and Kaoru-Sensei said that they'd waited too long. They'd never waited that long for anybody else, but as Tora is your brother, and everybody likes him a lot, and he's gentle and hard working, they'd all hoped that his potential will appear much more later than it was used too, and that they'd been careless. Now, because of these important people visiting, they're afraid that they will be blamed for this, and punished, for not having followed the rules. They wouldn't want to be separated, and they don't want our community to be shattered amongst other covens because they wouldn't be deemed good enough to manage their own. So they sounded very upset about this, and I think Shinya and Toshiya were almost crying, but they decided to send Tora back at the village. Kaoru said that he would find him a good house where he would be well treated, and that he would take us there from time to time to see him, but that we couldn't keep him here because he was jeopardizing the whole community and it wasn't reasonable to let their feelings get over the well-being of everybody else. He said it had been selfish of them to think that they could get away with the protocole without paying the consequences, and that he was the main responsible for the situation, so he would fix it. They plan to take Tora to town on the day after tomorrow. They don't plan to tell us before, because they think it would be too hard for us. » Uruha finished, out of breath. Kai was already rummaging through his clothes and stuff, sorting things to pack. Tora was left stunned, his eyes wide and his hands shaking a bit.

Ruki turns to Kai with a scoff.

« What the hell are you doing ? » 

Kai looks back at him like he's grown two heads during Uruha's speach.

« What do you mean ? I'm packing, of course ! What do you want me to do ? We'll go after diner. When the night will be dark. We'll sneack into the kitchen before we go, to pack as much food as we need for the trip. We have to take warm clothes, because it's still cold at night, and Uruha, you have to put a new pair of shoes because you can't go with the old ones, they have holes and- »

Uruha is beginning to panic again, going through his stuff too worriedly.

« Wow. Hold on. Stop this. We're not going anywhere. » Ruki says sternly.

« What do you mean, we're not going anywhere ? » Kai's face has hardened, his eyes had darkened, and his tone is everything but patient. An underlying threat is lacing his words. « Of course we're going. There's no other way, so please, Ruki, don't make things more difficult than they already are, and go pack your things. I certainly won't let them them take Tora away. I won't allow that, and I don't know how you can even consider to- » His tone is slightly hysterical now, as the situation they are in is dawning on him. 

« Do you really think you're the only one caring so much for Tora ? The only one here who wants to protect him ?» Ruki spits in disbelief and anger. Kai turns to him, blushing furiously, ready to bite.

« Hey guys, easy. I don't think it's the good moment to fight. And, for your information, I am the one who's supposed to protect you, not the other way around. » Tora's low voice cuts them. « And as such, I don't think it would be very wise to throw ourselves on the streets whereas we don't have any idea of where we could go. » He pauses, Kai, Ruki and Uruha having turned to him when he'd began to speak. « There's no way I will accept to put you three in danger for me. I'd rather go live in town and know you're safe here, honestly. »

« That's bullshit. We won't let you do that- »Kai snaps.

« Would you please all shut up ! » Ruki yells, exasperated by his friends' behaviour. « For the Great Ancients 'sake ! No need to be so dramatic ! I have a solution ! »

All eyes turn to him.

« You have ? » Kai asks in disbelief. « But how ? »

Ruki is now getting to pick Uruha up from when he'd let himself fall against the door, « Come here, Uru. We need to talk, and we'll be more comfortable on the bed. Come on, guys, we have things to plan. »

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy this fic seems to finally find people to read it^^ Thank you for your comments and please tell me what you think about the new chap, okay? Take care!


	9. Magic and Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I kinda let you on a cliffhanger, I thought it would not be very kind to let you wait more ;) This chapter had not been easy to write, I hope it will be easy to read at least! Enjoy, and maybe turn the lights off, put some incense and light up some candles...

The young High Priest could feel Reita's impatience through their connection. He smiled, having never expected that the young Prince would be that eager to listen to their story. He was quick to focus on the on-going memory. 

« Would you please all shut up ! » Ruki yells, exasperated by his friends' behaviour. « For the Great Ancients 'sake ! No need to be so dramatic ! I have a solution ! »

All eyes turn to him.

« You have ? » Kai asks in disbelief. « But how ? »

Ruki is now getting to pick Uruha up from when he'd let himself fall against the door, « Come here, Uru. We need to talk, and we'll be more comfortable on the bed. Come on, guys, we have things to plan. »

And then Ruki explains them.

How he'd always wanted to be prepared for this, because as much as he would have wanted Tora to develop some kind of Potential, he also knew there was the possibility that he wouldn't. 

And he'd never forgot the talk they'd had with their senseis about their capacities back then, where Kaoru had mentionned how Tora would have to go at some point if he didn't grew the slightest Potential. 

From then on, Ruki had looked for answers, having one more reason to be motivated to learn how to read. Which he did really fast. And then, as he'd earned Die's affection, the man had let him read whatever he chose in his precious library. 

Ruki had gone through books like a starved boy, often staying later than his teacher in the old room full of books, and Die had somehow trusted him enough to stop checking on what Ruki was actually consulting. 

The little boy had been eager to learn about anatomy, spells, Dogma history, medecine, but he never forgot that there was a threat on their brotherhood. 

So he'd also learnt to search for forbidden books, the ones Die was keeping away on the higher shelf of his office (Die also kept in his office a ladder, to reach for the higher shelf of the many hazardous ingredients for his potions and spells, so that wasn't really a problem for Ruki), and during his long reading sessions in the evening, while his friends were playing shogi or dice or whatever in their shared room, and his senseis were all sharing a drink in the kitchen with Gohan-san after a hearty diner, Ruki had begun to take notes in his childish messy writing about the subject that concerned him the most. 

« And it seems that we have a solution. » The little boy now says seriously. « If Tora has no Potential, the three of us have more than enough to share. »

« How is it even possible ? I've never heard of that ?» Kai is gaping at him, wide eyes full of hope. 

« You don't, because you haven't read the good books. In the Book of Blood, there are all the steps you have to follow to give up some of your magic for someone. It looks quite difficult and probably painful, too, I'm sorry for that, Tora, but I think it's worth the- »

« The Book of Blood ? You've got to be kidding me, right ? » Kai cuts him, horror painted on his face. « Ruki, you know that we don't have the right to read these books ! These are black magic works, forbidden magic ! If Die-Sensei learns about it, he will probably outcast you from the community ! What were you thinking ! »

« Do I have to remind you that you were about to run away from the Coven, which is kinda forbidden too ? Being banished because I've tried to find a way to keep Tora with us is it worse than the four of us having to escape from here without having nowhere to run to ? » Ruki has crossed his arms on his chest in defiance, his eyes burning with anger. «I thought you were ready to do anything to protect your precious Tora, Kai-kun ? »

« He's not my precious- » Kai's face is flushed, his index pointing at Ruki's nose furiously, and the glint in his eyes is enough of an indication of how fuming he is. But he stops talking suddenly, clenching his jaw as he is now thinking more thoroughly about what Ruki just said, that is, before the « precious » thing that got him enraged- and self conscious. 

Tora hadn't open his mouth since his two « brothers » had begun to argue. He'd learnt recently that it was better to let them express their frustration at each other before chiming in and giving them his point of view, always being the peacemaker between them. As young children, Kai and Ruki never fought. But as they'd grown older, Kai had begun to question more Ruki's established leadership. Of course he still loved the youngest more than anything, but sometimes he wanted his opinion to get respected, especially when he knew he was right. And Ruki, having been used to decide for them all for so long, didn't really understand why things should change. That, and the fact that they were now young teenagers, made some situations degenerate quickly. 

« Ruki. You know what Kai really wanted to say, right ? He's only worried that you could have had some serious problems. »

Weirdly, Kai agrees with a nod. He looks sad, and defeited.

« Tora's right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you the way I did. Knowing that you've put yourself in danger by reading these forbidden texts made me mad, but now I realize... That while we were carelessly playing in our room, all these nights, you were the only one thinking about protecting us. I'm sorry for that, I should have been more responsible. I should- »

« That's okay, Kai, no need to blame yourself. I hoped it wouldn't be useful, honestly, and I've loved to put my nose in these books even more because they were cursed, as you can imagine. » Ruki is shrugging, looking a bit sheepish as he confesses his sin. But his eyes are sharp and bright when he catches Kai's hand in his. « But I'm happy that I know a way to fix this now. And the most important thing is, we all want to fix this no matter what. »

Kai squeazes his hand, and it is his turn to nod. 

Uruha, who'd stayed silent during the whole argument, choses this moment to speak.

« If you know how, please take my magic to give it to Tora. I don't need much, just be sure I still have enough left to stay here with you, because I don't want to go anywhere else. » He is looking really grave, and the other boys know that he meant it. They all coo at him, and Kai is the first to catch the thin boy in his arms. First, because Uruha loves hugs more than anything, and he gives the best ones. And second, because Uruha never wants to let it go when they hug, and Kai prefers when the little boy hugs him instead of Tora. Kai is weirdly upset when it happens, so yeah, that's killing two birds with a stone, really, and it doesn't harm nobody. 

The memory faded away, and another one came to Reita's mind. It was kind of blurry at first, and the melting of the previous scene and this one was kinda disturbing, it gave him nausea. But it was quick to adjust, and his stomach settled to a light discomfort.

The four children are in a dark room, lit with many candles. Reita can see many shelves with jars and books all around them - « it's the night after our previous discussion, we're in Die-Sensei's office. » Ruki whispers before falling into silence again-. 

Kai, Tora and Uruha (in their bed's clothes- sit in round while Ruki is busy lighting on more candles, that he disposes all arond them, and before them. Then he sits too, and catches a burlap bag he brought with him and begins to arrange things in the center of their circle. He seems very focused, frowning slightly, and also have some paper sheets with him that he read and re-read religiously, murmuring things his friends can't even understand.

He gets up and draws a perfect cercle with salt around them, chanting lowly an incantation he reads from one of his sheets. 

He sets some wine in a copper gobelet, adds some unknown powder in it, stirs the mix with a silver spoon, still chanting under his breath.

Next, he puts some henbane seeds in another copper bowl with incense in it and lights it up. A deep smoke begins to cloud the room, it smells nice and warm, and weird too. 

As the smoke spreads around them, Ruki takes a piece of fabric he'd cut from one of Tora's old tunic, sets it before him on the floor, with a needle and some thread, besides another copper bowl, in which he puts something wrapped in a kitchen towel. He stares at everything he just staged and checks that he didn't forget a single thing.

Then he seems to snap out of his daze, looking at them with nervosity. 

« Okay. » He breathes. « Are you ready ? »

The three others nod. Uruha is slightly shaking, Kai has his fist clenched on his knees, and Tora's jaw is so tense Reita can tell he's grinding his teeth. The little boys know that their future will not be the same if tonight's spell doesn't work.

They also know that they could be banished if only someone happens to know that they've been practicing black magic inside the coven. They're well aware that they're violating so many rules there, but nothing could make them change their mind. They all catch the hands of their friends and squeaze gently.

« Here we go. » Ruki inhales deeply. 

He catches some scissors in one of his pockets and hands them to Kai. « I need one strand of your hair. You two too. » The three boys do as Ruki asks without thinking. They give him their hair, that he mixes with a strand of his own, before putting them on the piece of fabric of Tora's tunic. As he unwraps the kitchen towel, his three friends let out a confused squeak. Ruki now holds in his tiny hands what looks like a tiny bloody heart.

« I needed a heart, but I couldn't kill the chicken myself. It was too hard. » Ruki tells them with a face full of shame. « I got it from Gohan-San. »

Tora squeazes his knee in a comforting way. « You're doing great, Ru-chan, and it doesn't matter, since you found a way to have it, right ? »

Ruki smiles tensely. He sets the little organ in the last empty bowl, and proceeds to cut it in two with a silver knife. 

« I borrowed the bowls and the knife and spoon from Die-Sensei's workshop. We'll have to clean everything perfectly and put them back in place if we don't want to get caught. » He adds, trying to not think too much about what he's doing, the gummy-sticky feeling between his fingers making him want to gag somehow. 

When it's done, he arranges one half of the tiny heart on the mix of hair, and puts the other one in the gobelet full of wine. Tora frowns at that, not liking much what it might imply, but doesn't comment. Ruki begins to sew the piece of fabric, enclosing the hair and half heart in it, and disposes it back in its bowl. He inhales shakily and deeply again.

« Well, now, that's the part we're probably going to like the least. We need to cut both of the palms of our hands. » Uruha whines, but he's the first to take the silver knife Ruki has just cleaned. He presses it against the tender flesh, and doesn't hesitate to cut deeply. Ruki is quick to bring the gobelet of wine under the bleeding hands, catching some precious drops, as he also does for Kai and Tora, before cutting himself too. Once he'd gathered their blood, he pours some drops of a tiny bottle in the mix.

« That's Datura seeds oil. It's powerful, and toxic too. It will help you to let the magic spread and settle in your organism, as it allows your body and soul to be in the most submissive mode, but it'll also probably give you a strong headache, and make your heart beat stronger and faster. You'll more than likely suffer from severe hallucinations, too. » Ruki makes a face, and the boys -and Reita, too- can all see how pained he is to have to make Tora go through all of this. « I'm sorry. I've looked for other ways, but nothing didn't seem as efficient as this. »

Tora gulps. He's not quite enthusiastic as what he can imagine is going to follow. But he knows this is certainly the one and only chance he has to gain some Potential, and he wants more than everything to stay here with his « brothers ». So he forces a smile, bravely, and looks at the three of them gravely.

« It's okay, Ruki. You did your best, we all know it. I'm ready. » He crinkles his nose and smiles at Uruha, who replies the same way, and turns to Kai, who tries his best to beam at him, without much success. The worry is clear on his features, and Tora intertwines their bloody fingers.

« It's gonna be okay, Kai-chan. I promise » He says in a tone that wants to be confident.

Ruki nods. Time to go.

« Okay, now 'm gonna begin the ceremony and set the mix on fire. Then, the three of us are going to hold hands in round, we have to make our bloods mingle, and focus on our breathing to go into a trance. The henbane smoke will help us for this. Meanwhile Tora will drink -and I'm afraid to say, chew a bit, because there's the half heart in this too,- the content of the gobelet. All of it. And when it's done, he'll grab our hands and join the circle. If everything goes as it should, we will know when it's finished when what's in the bowl will be totally burnt. »

Ruki has already put the bowl on fire, and then all of them settle to do as he ordered, the henbane fog already making them dizzy. Kai throws a last concerned glance Tora's way, and closes his eyes just like Uruha, as Ruki watches for a bit more Tora sip the fluid from the gobelet. 

He seems on the verge of vomiting, and then, he remembers the things at stake, breathes hard before swallowing in one long gulp the disgusting fluid, (he gags at the end) and chews furiously the half heart before swallowing it too. He's pale, now, and he can see Ruki's eyes on him, a glint of pride in them. He puts the gobelet back before him, and they exchange a last look before they close their eyes in turn, as the different smokes carry them further in an inebriated intoxication. They all begin to drift, and at first it's peacefull, numbing, a bit like floating... Their heads are heavy, yet their bodies feel so light... And for a few minutes all Reita can see is the four boys holding bleeding hands peacefully, looking like they'd all fallen asleep. Their breathing is so soft, their faces so devoid of any emotion...

The smoke is invading the room, and the ground is somehow vibrating. The fire is burning fiercely now in the copper bowl, and suddenly Tora's mouth let escape a low moan of pain, one that lasts long, followed by his body who arches and tenses. The tall boy is clenching his fists, crushing his friends' hands, and sweat is running on his brow. His face is scrunched up in pain, and he fights to not let himself fall down.

« No matter what, we don't let his hands go. » Ruki says, his eyes still closed. He's sweaty too, and so, so pale. 

The two other boys keep their eyes shut, and even if they look like they'd rather be anywhere else than here, even if they look worried and uncomfortable, they're far frow looking as awful as Tora or Ruki.

« I couldn't let him suffer alone, it was beyond my forces to hear and feel him suffering that much without at least trying to alleviate it, even if it was just a little. I did my best to take away the pain as much as I could, and I thought maybe I'd die there as the sensations were going through me too.

It was like something was burning and scorching us from the inside. Like our own organs were rebelling against our bodies. And the fear, god... The spiritual sensations were the worse, as we were assaulted by the most terrible fits of fear, anxiety, and also feeling like we were experiencing an immense loss, and it totally wrecked us. » Ruki whispers from his velvety chair, as the scene seemed to freeze in Reita's mind. 

The images of the suffering of the two kids are terrible to watch, as they trash and toss on the ground, their friends gripping their hands like if their lives depended on it, like if letting them go would mean losing them. The fire seems to lose its intensity, but the buzzing of the ground doesn't, the smoke is black now, as the last flames smoulder and die, and suddenly there are five men entering the room, and it's like chaos around the children. Ruki and Tora have passed out , their hands still locked with Uruha's and Kai's.

«Shinya-sensei and Kaoru-Sensei had begun to feel something wrong in the air when we were about to put everything on fire. They explained us later that the little hairs of their neck and forearms were standing up suddenly, and just after that the five of them had sensed the buzzing of the ground. It took them some time to find where it was coming from, but eventually they found us. They took us to the infirmary, and Shinya examinated us one by one. Uruha and Kai were unharmed, but they were deeply shocked and terrified. Uruha was the least affected, because of all he'd already endured before. He recovered quickly, and he was the one who had to suffer the questions of our senseis. Of course, we hadn't realized that we could have been caught, and he wasn't prepared at all to face this. He bravely did, but he had to confess what we did, and why we did it . Kai seemed to be okay too, so he was allowed to go with Uruha, which was probably not for the better if we think about it, but Shinya had already so much to do with Tora and I, I mean, noone's to blame for what happened later. Nobody could have known. »

« We spent three days in a kind of coma. Our senseis were taking turn to watch after us. Kai and Uruha said that they looked like shit, that they were consummed with guilt and shame, and they were so scared to lose us both. They'd let Uruha and Kai go, Shinya had hugged them strongly, just like Die, and Kaoru had come to ask for forgiveness. His eyes were full of sorrow, and he'd kneeled before them, told them that he shouldn't have thought about giving up on Tora, because he knew how much we loved each other. He said it was his fault for not being a better tutor, and the two boys had thrown themselves in his arms, and Toshiya, his eyes full of tears, had come to put an arm on his friend's shoulder while he was holding the two crying boys. Kyo had stayed in the background the whole time, his jaw tense and looking like he was mad at the whole world. Kai said that he'd been scared that he would lash at them, but actually Kyo was just mad at himself more than anything. When we finally woke-up, everybody was relieved. Officially, we'd caught a naughty fever that sent us in a coma, because the Senseis couldn't let anybody know that four kids had escaped their watch and tried some black magic. That could cost them the whole Coven, and cause many troubles to the children, whose future would anyway be spoiled because of their little stunt, and who probably would end up becoming the object of all kind of twisted experiments. »

The images of the little boys were fading away, and Reita was opening his eyes to look staight into Ruki's, expecting. 

« Okay... But... » He said in an impatient tone. « Did it worked?! »

Ruki's lips curled upwards. 

« Well, what do you think ? »

«Hey, I don't know, you're the one telling the story ! »

« Right. » Ruki called. « Tora ! Can you come, please ? »

The tall bodyguard entered the room, holding a basket full of plants and vegetables. No doubt, he'd been helping Kai in the garden. These two never seemed to stay appart for too long. 

« Yeah ? Need any help, Your Grace ? »

Reita couldn't help but chuckle at the weird mix of familiar talk with honorifics. 

« Could you show our Prince here a bit of your Potential ? »

Tora looked surprised, but he still put the basket on the table before catching a little piece of paper on one of Kai's shelves, where he was keeping stuff to write his new recipes or potions. He then cupped his big hands around it, closing his eyes as focusing on it, and when he opened his hands again, there was a tiny paper bird finely fold. 

Reita let out a sigh he didn't know he'd been holding. 

« Waow ! »

Tora burst into laughter.

« It's not even that impressive, Your Majesty ! Actually, my Potential is pretty weak. »

Ruki snapped his arm sternly.

« Hey ! I forbid you to say this ! Your magic is just fine, and we earned it painstakingly, so have a bit of respect for it ! »

He turned to Reita as Tora was childishly stucking up his tongue. 

« His Potential mostly acts through a medium of some sort. As he was already a skilled soldier, and had worked hard to perfect his abilities in martial arts, he's now capable of wonders with a sword or a bow. That's where his magic is the most powerful. Ha, you know what they say about men with big swords, right, Your Majesty ? » Ruki raised an eyebrow suggestively at the Prince, who choked at his words, while Tora was merely shaking his head with an amused frown. « Anyway, Tora is the best bodyguard someone could dream of, and he'd also learn to use his powers through other mediums than weapons. He also is a talented musician, and there's no intrument he isn't able to play. » The High Priest looked fondly at Tora who was now blushing. « Okay, big boy, you can go back to where you came from. I'm pretty sure you're having a severe case of withdrawal, being so far away of the object of your whole affection for all these long minutes ! » 

Tora blushed anew, and put the paper bird atop Ruki's head before planting a quick peck on his temple.

« I have no idea what you're talking about, and you know you have a big part of my affection, Your Grace-chan ! » He said before hurrying towards the door, not wanting Ruki to have the time to answer and embarrass him further.

« Liar ! » The High Priest shouted with a huff.

Reita looked at the two friends interaction with a twist in his guts. It wasn't unlike how he and his brother were acting when they were around each other, and he missed Aoi so damn much. He tried to push his feelings at the back of his mind, because he didn't need to be emotionnal. He had to focus on the here and then, if he wanted to maybe be able to see his family back someday. He asked the first thing that came to his mind, to distract himself from the homesickness creeping up in his chest.

«Err... I wouldn't want to be rude, Your Grace, but Tora and Kai... Are they... ? »

Ruki shook his head regretfully. 

« Ah, you won't be able to understand the reasons why for now, because there's still so much I need to explain you before you have a whole idea of how we live and what's going on, but... Just know that Tora and Kai have been in love with each other for years. They would never aknowledge it for what it is, because what it implies is very complicated and they're not ready for this, but basically they're like soulmates, and their situation is pretty cruel. They can't stay appart from each other, and are so stupid they think their feelings are one-sided. » He sighed.

« Even a blind man could notice the lovesick looks on their faces each time they're in the same room. »

« Ah, thank you. » the High Priest rolled his eyes. « They think they're so subtle, it would be very funny if it wasn't that tragic, actually. »

The two people they were talking about were at the doorstep now, Tora with a new basket full of vegetables, and Kai holding his gardening tools. Tora was rubbing a spot of dirt on Kai's cheek nonchalantly, while the druid was doing his best to not blush like crazy. The two men were grinning at each other.

« Thanks. » Kai mumbled, avoiding Tora's eyes. 

« You're welcome. » Tora replied, looking a bit smug.

But Reita and Ruki could hear the hidden signification of their seemingly innocent and common words.

« See, Your Majesty ? Disgustingly sweet. » Ruki crinkled his nose at him, and Reita could just notice how cute he was right then.

After a hearty lunch that Ruki and Tora had helped Kai to cook while bantering like schoolboys, Reita felt suddenly exhausted, Kai ordered him to nap, while they would keep on doing their chores. The prince was a bit disappointed, since there were so many things he wanted to learn, but his tiredness just won at some point, and he fell asleep like a dead man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I am as always looking forwards your comments and thoughts, they're a never ending source of motivation <3\. Take care of yourselves!


	10. The Heir and the Great Mage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry again for the delay, I haven't been able to update anything in so long. I hope there are still people waiting for new chapters though, because they're coming. Not as quickly as I'd like but hey, I'm doing my very best! So, here's chapter 10, and I do hope you'll be as happy as I am to finally meet our Great Mage and to have a longer time in Aoi's company too. I missed these two boys so damn much ToT... Enjoy?

Uruha had woken up in a particularly bad mood this morning, everything around him spreading a gloomy aura that dampened his mood so much he'd almost gotten back to bed. Instead, he'd decided to ignore it (and it wasn't an easy task, because Uruha, as strong and powerful as he was as a mage, loved his comfy bed more than any other place in this world. ) and headed straight to the kitchen, deciding to not mingle with the people of his coven and to have a quiet but hearty breakfast. He'd answered each bow and greeting with a bow of his own and some polite words, and as everybody there knew him well, they let him go without bothering him.

After all, he was the allmighty Great-Mage, right ? He had the right to have some time for himself , for the great ancients' sake !

He finally breathed, relieved as he let himself fall on one of the kitchen's chair, in a secluded corner, next to a small table. Gohan-kun, the grumpy cook, (as a boy he'd been taken off the streets by Kaoru's own sempai and he'd begun to work in the kitchen of the coven. He had no name back then, and the old man hadn't been very original when he'd searched for something to call him) watched him fondly from behind the huge stove where he was aleady preparing lunch while serving breakfast. He'd taken a special liking in Uruha as soon as the little boy had been able to attend the common meals with everyone in the living room after he'd fully recovered, and it wasn't a lie to say that, except for Ruki, who'd always succeeded at softening the usually cold and jaded man, Uruha was the only one Gohan-san had a such a soft spot for. 

« Good morning, Your Grace. What with the sad face today ? Did you see some bad omen this morning ? »

Uruha sighed. 

« Ah, no. Actually, I stopped making divination in the morning. First, it's giving me headaches since my stomach is empty and then, there are no surprises when you know what's gonna happen. It's boring. I'm only vaguely checking on the vibes of the day by watching a few seconds on the surface of my divination bowl, and today I just decided to skip this because I didn't feel like it. »

Gohan-san made a face.

« So, you're telling me that we should all have stayed in bed ? »

Uruha snorted and shook his head, smiling a bit. 

« If only we had the choice ! But no, we can't have you stay in bed all day ! Whereas I, on the contrary- »

« Don't say nonsense, your Grace, you're the Great Mage, you're the more important person in the whole coven now that His Grace Ruki is gone. The community can't function properly if you're not- »

« You must be joking, right ? You're the one feeding us, so I do think that YOU are the most important person of the Coven. Without you we're litteraly unable to do anything ! » Uruha was grinning mischievously now, happy to see Gohan-san actually blushing, flustered.

« Ha, stop it with the flattering, your Grace, you know I'll give you as much food as you wish even if you're not saying things like these ! »

« It's not flattering to say the blatant truth. And I do know that, and it's because I'm your favourite. »

He winked at the man, who all but grunted at these words.

« No, it's because you're the Great Mage, I'm not doing any favouritism ! »

« Ah ! It's because I'm your favourite Great Mage, then ! »

The man just shook his head at Uruha's playful attitude. There was no point in arguing with the young mage (well of course he was his favourite Great Mage since he was the only one here, duh), however, because Uruha loved to banter about nonsensical things anyway. And Gohan-san couldn't not humour him, because he knew how lonely the Great Mage felt now that his friends (or more, brothers in their case) were gone with that awful King Tetsuo. He could only hope that, for the sake of Uruha's sanity, they would soon find some secluded place where they could move in before the man could marry their High Priest and possess his power and magic. 

« So, what's your program today, your Grace ? I mean, after you'd put on some proper clothes and ate the perfect breakfast I'm cooking for you ? »

Uruha frowned, looking offended.   


« What about my clothes ? I think they're kinda proper. I mean, why do I always have to look like I've just got out of a spellbook or something ? I've decided that I would only put-on those heavy dresses and veils and make-up for the weekly ceremonials or such. For my everyday chores I can as well stay in formal clothes, they're much more practical. »

The cook's smile grew smug.

« If you say so. I would advise you to enjoy this as long as His Grace Ruki isn't around, because as soon as he'll be in charge again, you'll have to follow the protocol quite strictly. You know him and his ways to boss everyone around, right ? »

« Yeah, I know... But if I am allowed to admit, I can't wait for him to be back again. Of course he'll annoy me with these things, but I like it when he wants to handle everything, along with Kai. I don't like to be in charge, it's so boring and demanding. And also... I miss them so much. » He added in a weak voice.

Gohan-san chuckled fondly. He was happy that Uruha deemed him worth of trust enough to tell him this. He knew that, as he was the most powerful mage around, he was quite left aside by the majority of their now small community, He was their leader now, and in order to maintain his authority, his position required respect and asked for a certain distance to be held between him and the rest of the Coven. He understood that, but above all, he was only a young man without close friends to share the burden of his status.

« I figured, yeah. I miss them too. It's not the same without them, it's so... Quiet ? Could you get in touch with His Grace Ruki lately ?»

Uruha chuckled. Yes, indeed, it was too quiet.

«Yes, we shared some mind reading yesterday night. They still haven't figured out a good solution to our issues, and I really have to put my brains to work and find something quick before the situation explodes in our faces. » His tone had become serious. « They're trying to buy us some time but I don't know how long we have until this Testsuo bastard loses patience and does something stupid. » He put down the bowl he'd just emptied, and bit in an aple. « Thank you so much for this royal breakfast, Gohan-san, I'm gonna head to the forest to try to meditate, I feel like it could be useful. »

« Follow your intuition, Your Grace, I'm sure you'll come up with something genius soon ! »

« I'll do my best ! See you, Gohan-san... Can't wait to taste what's on this cauldron, it smells so good ! »

He'd walked for not too long before he had reached his destination, a place deep in the woods, where the light wasn't too bright to disturb his focus, choosing to sit on the moss-covered ground under a tall willow, where he could hear the soft gurgling of the smalll river passing by and the whispers of the wind through the branches of the trees. Perfect. That would help him to reach the state of meditation he was looking for. He felt restless and he needed to calm down to be in the best state of mind. After lunch, he'd probably call for the few men that were aware of the threat that was weighting on their shoulders, and tell them that he would be leaving to explore physically more farthest places in hopes to find somewhere to settle their community safely. Ruki, Kai and Tora had no clue about where to go and they'd all ran out of ideas, and it was beginning to be really disheartening. But for now, he really needed to recharge his energies in his favourite hiding place.

He crossed his legs, and let himself lean against the trunk of the willow, calling his mind to a state of numbness and peace only him could conjure. He felt his body become weightless and his limbs felt like jelly first, then gradually felt like they'd lost consistance. In the space he was floating now, Uruha was only surrounded by a soft yellow light, and for a moment he lost any notion of space and time, just letting the powerful forces of nature invading him. Until...

Suddenly, noises echoed not too far, but Uruha was too far gone to just jolt awake from his own secluded space. He should maybe have felt fear or panic or just annoyance at being disturbed so rudely, but at that point he could only register facts, without having any intention to act about them at all. He heard furious dogs barking, and several men talking in loud and angry tones. He could spot... four Auras ? Three of them were a deep grey, not exactly the same but that exhuded a deep sadness. The fourth, though... It was fascinating. This one was a deep dark grey-blue, sadness and worry, veined with red, hot, pulsing lightnings. Wrath. Pure and growing. It was beautiful to watch, as the colors were mingling and changing patterns, and something was bugging Uruha's focus, urging him to react, to move, to hide.

Uruha opened his eyes.

The man with the amazing Aura was standing a few feet away from him, looking at him with wide eyes, looking exactly like he'd seen a ghost of some sorts. His dark Aura was now like star-studded, little glitters of gold sparkling amongst the red flashes of anger and the intense nightsky color. They just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and the man seemed to shake himself out of his transe, catching his sword, his confusion making him stutter.

« Who... Who the fuck are you and what are you... What are you doing here all alone ? »

Rude.

Uruha raised a brow at that question, unimpressed. The man was tall, but probably a bit shorter than him. He was thin but had broad shoulders, long black hair, beautiful features, deep brown eyes and pretty lips. Which for now were pressed in a thin line, mirroring the frown taking place on his face. Uruha didn't know the reason why the man seemed so... Taken aback. But he was sure he didn't know him, he would surely remember if he had already met the stranger. 

The three other men had appeared behind the stranger, now also catching their swords.

« Prince Aoi, do you want us to tie him and bring him back to the castle to question him and see if he knows anything ? » 

Uruha tsk'd. He hadn't spoken a word since the men appeared. He got up from his sitting position, grimacing a bit at the pins and needles he could feel in his legs after such a long time without moving, and made a show of dusting himself off, mostly to give himself time to come back to his senses fully.

« I'd very much like to see you try this. » He muttered, taking a leaf from a side of his thighs, before leveling his gaze and looking at the men boredly. « Aren't there things such as politeness and introductions where you come from ? »

The three men behind looked at each other, dumbfounded, as their chief -Prince Aoi ?- was frowning more, his Aura showing his anger flarring, just before it disappeared, as realization was dawning on him.

« Oh, you're a mage, right ? That would explain why you're here on your own. Is your Coven near here ? We've been looking for it for a few days but we haven't been able to find it. I'd really like to speak to your High Priest, if he was willing to meet me, of course. It's very important. »

« Obviously you couldn't find it ! What's the point of being Dogma disciples if we're not able to keep our Coven hidden to protect ourselves from outside visitors that would want to take advantage of us or steal our crops ? » He snorted. « And requesting an interview with the High Priest isn't something you do so easily. » Uruha answered, and it was his turn to frown. Who did these men think they were ? « Besides, our High Priest isn't at the coven for now, he's left to manage some political issues. The one in charge is our Great Mage, and he doesn't quite like strange men with swords and no manners. »

His words sounded like those of a petulant child to his own ears, but the prince seemed to suddenly understand where they did come from. He sighed, and suddenly he just looked defeated and exhausted.

« I'm sorry. I forgot to act like a normal human being. You're right. I'm Prince Aoi, heir of the Shiroyama Kingdom, and here are Saga, Hiroto and Nao, they're my most loyal men. We're currently investigating on very serious matters and we would like to know if one of you heard about strange things happening around here, or saw dangerous people lurking around ? And maybe we would need your help to find someone, too. »

Uruha's face softened a bit. The apologies sounded sincere, and something in the Aura of the prince (the dark red fading a bit, the golden tiny fireworks overshadowed by another grey-marroon wave of grief and sadness.) made him speak more gently.

« I'm Uruha of the Black Moon Coven. Listen, you really look like you could use some help, indeed. I can't guarantee you that our Great Mage will be able to help you, or will want to meet you at all, but you can follow me to the Coven if you want. And while we walk, why don't you tell me everything about the things you're investigating about ? I'll maybe be of some help ? »

The Prince weakly smiled, the up-curl of his mouth didn't quite reach his eyes but the way he looked at Uruha made the gold glitters of his Aura shine again brighter. That was weird, but Uruha liked it.

« Thank you so much, Uruha-san. Can we maybe go now ? We're quite tired, and we'd like to learn things as soon as possible, time is playing against us. »

Uruha obliged, and they were soon riding the men's horses, Hiroto sharing Nao's saddle so that Uruha could ride on his own. He was leading the group, riding side by side with Prince Aoi.

« So, Your Majesty, tell me. »

And Prince Aoi told. 

That their best squad had gone for a rehearsal of some parade into the woods, and never returned. 

How Prince Aoi and his men had found the dead bodies of the whole squad, except one, and had brought them all back to their castle to give them proper funerals, and warn the Royal Council that they had to declare the state of emergency because murderers were running the woods. 

And how they'd painfully and pityfully had to admit to their heartbroken King and Queen (Aoi's parents) that there was no trace of their beloved second son, Prince Reita Suzuki, who'd been the captain of the squad.

Since then Aoi and his men were hunting the murderers and the possibility of them finding Prince Reita alive was the only thing giving them hope.

Uruha listened carefully, keeping an impassive face, his mind processing the facts Prince Aoi was willingly offering, and being assured that the man was only telling the truth by checking his Aura, who now only showed the young mage sincerity and honesty. He felt glad, because he did want to believe Prince Aoi, who, despite his lack of manners earlier (Uruha was adamant on manners, just as many other things like cleanliness, the respect of promises made, how he couldn't bear with people who borrowed his stuff without asking permission first or the way his lunch would just be wasted if things in his plate or bowl were mixed. Meat, vegetables and rice should be kept to themselves and everything would be perfect. That was one of the many rules Uruha always followed.) proved to be quite of a nice company, and whose sadness touched the young mage's heart deeply. He knew that if he had to face the same predicament, not knowing if one of his « brothers » were still alive or not, he would probably forget his manners too, so he decided that he would forgive the young Prince and take pity on him. And he also knew other, important things.

Like how Ruki had told him in their latest summoning session that they'd taken an almost dead young prince from the donjon of Tetsuo's castle, tried and seemingly succeeded in saving him, and kept this hidden from the King, trying to buy some precious time for them. Their sessions didn't last long, because it was draining a lot of their energy and they knew they would need it soon as the dreaded day where Tetsuo will claim Ruki was relentlessly coming. And Uruha didn't want to give Prince Aoi and his men false hopes, but he was quite sure the wounded prince was indeed Aoi's younger brother.

Prince Aoi was still talking, and Uruha still listening, when they passed the magic gates that lead to the Coven. Aoi stopped whatever he was rambling about, looking confused all of a sudden. 

« Damn, I didn't even notice we were approaching these houses and buildings. Your Great Mage's magic has to be powerful, and the man has to be skilled, for a protection spell to have this quality. »

Uruha smiled mischievously.

« He's quite talented, yes. And I'm sure he'll be more than delighted to hear you praise him about him when he will receive you. »

« What makes you so sure that he will want to in the first place ? » 

« Oh, he will, believe me. I know how to convince people. » With that, he winked and jumped lighly from the horse's back. Two teens were coming towards them, looking at Uruha expectantly.

« Oh, boys, could you please bring these men to the Great Mage's office, please ? And take care of the horses, after ?» The two boys nodded, happy to be of help for their Great Mage, and he smiled at them before turning back to Aoi and bow. « I'll ask you to wait for a bit there, since he might probably not be ready to receive unexpected visitors. After the interview, we will have lunch alltogether, if that suits you ? »

« That would be very nice of you, thank you so much, Uruha-san. Without you we would still be wandering in the woods for nothing. Your help means a lot. I won't forget to tell your Great Mage how sensitive and kind you've been to us. I hope you'll be rewarded for that. »

« Please do ! I like it when people praise me ! » Uruha said with a wink, happy to see that his little wink had rekindled the lovely golden stars of Aoi's Aura.

He went to his appartments, then (well, it was previously Shinya's, and it was barely more than a bedroom and a private office where he kept his spellbooks, some very precious ingredients and equipment, his divining cauldron and his summoning bowl, each of these neatly set on shelves.) and headed straight to his bedroom, opening his closet to find a proper outfit to meet Prince Aoi and his men. He giggled softly to himself, imagining the men's faces when they would realize that he was none other than the Great Mage himself. He might be the one in charge here, but he was also barely more than a teenager, he could afford a bit of whim, right ?

Indeed, the faces of his visitors were priceless when he entered his official office (which he used to share with Ruki) dressed in a long white tunic, one of his shoulders covered with a plain back shawl kept in place by a simple silver pin, and the ceremonial necklace made of dozens of black tiny leather strands, each one of them having been steeped in powerfull magic. The three newest strands that had been added to the necklace before his ceremony, had been made especially for him by Ruki, Kai and Tora, who'd put the best of their powers in them to protect and intensify his own Potential.

Prince Aoi looked confused as hell as one of the young apprentice stepped before Uruha and bowed to them, announcing Uruha as « His Grace Uruha, Black Moon Coven's Great Mage ».

He bowed nonetheless, looking perplexed and a bit taken aback. His eyes were focused on Uruha's face, and the Great Mage was glad that his aura wasn't betraying anything else than surprise. The little golden sparkles were still there, too. Nao, Saga and Hiroto, who looked as astonished, put a knee on the ground, their head bowed.

Uruha chuckled fondly.

« I hope you won't take offense of me hiding my identity until now. I just couldn't tell complete strangers that I was the Great Mage back there in the woods. It would have been totally inapropriate and very careless. »

« So you expected us to trust you but didn't reciprocate, Your Grace ? » Aoi asked sternly. Uruha could tell it was all an act, because he still could read that Aoi hadn't felt insulted in his Aura.

« Well, Your Majesty, I trusted you enough to let you in here, in my Coven, the place that's most sacred for me and my community. You should consider yourself lucky, you know ? » Uruha said in a soft voice, accompanying his words with a soft smile. It did wonders, apparently, since the Prince's Aura was litteraly sparkling now.

Aoi smiled.

«Indeed, I feel very lucky to have met you, Your Grace. And I understand your reluctance to let us know who you were. That was wise. »

« Thank you so much ! » Uruha was delighted. That was a rare occurance when someone actually praised him for being wise... Maybe because he wasn't that wise to begin with, but hey, compliments were always a good thing. « So now that we've got proper introductions, maybe I could tell you about my plan to help you while we have a good meal, what do you think ?

Aoi laughed at that. He'd always figured that Great Mages were stern old men with a long beard, living on spells and books and barely eating human food. What a cliché it was, right ? He thought that he was going to have to relearn everything from the start about covens and mages, and break all the prejudices he could have about the community.

Uruha lead them to the most important building of the place. But, instead of taking them to a head-table of some sort in the Dining room, he brought them at a little corner at the back of the kitchen, were a simple table stood, along with two benches. A fire was cracking in the fireplace nearby. It was enough for the five of them to sit around, but they were a bit cramped in there. As his men were exchanging curious glances between each others, Aoi decided to not mention the fact that they were actually welcomed in a room that was probably only used for domestic purposes. Uruha went himself in the kitchen to get a pichet of wine with five glasses, and they settled there, as the Great Mage had sent one of his apprentice to bring Gohan-san back. The five men began to chat about anything and everything, when the cook appeared in the backroom doorway, his eyes wide in horror.

« Your Grace ! What are you doing here ? » He couldn't even hide how paniqued he was. His tone was frantic, and anybody could have heard the consternation in his voice.

« What do you mean, what are we doing here ? » Uruha was returning his stare, one of his pretty eyebrow up in surprised.

« But Your grace, your apprentice said these lords were The Prince of Shiroyama Kingdom, and his escort. You can't receive guests of such importance at the back of my kitchen, Your Grace ! That's not in the protocol, that's not appropriate ! Oh for the Great Ancient's sake, Your Majesty, please forgive our Great Mage, he's still young and not very used to- »

« Excuse me, but I took these gentlemen in my favorite place in the Coven. I think they should feel quite honored, on the contrary ! » Uruha replied, offended. « I don't see why this place should be any worse than the big dining room with all the people there staring and talking loudly. And I don't think I insulted Prince Aoi- » 

He turned to look at his guest of honor, just to see him staring back with a blank face.

« Or did I ? » 

He gulped. Damn, that's why he didn't like to be in charge of anything. He liked to have nothing else to think about than himself, and he was barely able to remind himself the things he had to do, so how on earth would he be able to lead a whole community ? And to take properly care of guests at the top of this ? 

It was a disaster. 

He was a disaster.

Aoi had seen Uruha's bright personnality shut down at the cook's words. He'd seen the sorry look on his face when he'd realized that he'd probably done something wrong as far as diplomacy was concerned, and he hadn't like the self depreciation he could read in those golden eyes. 

« We're indeed honored that you deemed us important enough to bring us to your favorite place, Your Grace. And you're totally right, it will be a better place for us to talk , as we have many sensitive topics we want to discuss. That was a brilliant idea. » 

« Really ? » Uruha sounded skeptical, but a glint of hope had appeared in his eyes, and it was enough for Aoi to say that he'd told the right thing.

« Really ? » echoed Nao, a smug grin on his face.

Aoi glared at his friend first, then, for good measure, at the other two who wore the same kind of shit-eating expression, before turning to Uruha again, fondness replacing threat.

« Yes, really. I'd very much like one more glass of that wine you chose for us, Your Grace, it's delicious. »

Uruha's smile reappeared, along with the joyous firework in Aoi's Aura.

« Of course, Your majesty. Gohan-san, please give these gentlemen a taste of your wonderful cooking ! Ha, and don't forget me, right ? »

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't promise anything about a next update of some sort, I'm working on it to be soon though, and as always your comments are my best motivation! Take care of yourselves and stay safe! <3


	11. Mages and Princes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, precious readers! 
> 
> I hope everyone is safe and healthy, and I wish 2021 will be good enough, as in good enough to have enough people vaccinated, to behave properly and respect sanitary rules, to finally have this stupid virus under control, and to hope for an awesome 2022, full of lives and beautiful meetings. 
> 
> Anyway, here's the first update of the year, I think I may be able to update each week from now on, so let's get our fingers crossed guys.
> 
> Enjoy?

When Reita woke up at the end of the afternoon, the sun was already setting down. He let a low grunt, stretching carefully as he didn't want to wake up the pain. 

« Did you have a good rest, Your Majesty ? » Kai asked with a smile. He was sitting at the small table with Shin, seemingly teaching him how to write, igf the little boy's black stained hands were any indication. Tora was nowhere to be seen, and Ruki was reading some ancient looking books in his armchair by the chimney, Koron asleep on his lap. The High Priest gave him a small and absent-minded smile, looking like he was still trying to figure out what he'd been reading.

Reita sighed internally. Now wasn't probably the best time to ask Ruki for the rest of their story. He felt a bit frustrated, because, well, he'd lost the count on how many days he'd already spend there, but he was beginning to find it boring to lay in bed all day doing nothing. Ruki's storytelling had been a very effective and thrilling entertainment. Besides, Reita was a man of books. As a child, he'd always been the most happy when his mother took time to read them stories during long winter afternoons or at bedtime, and as a result he'd became an eager reader as he'd grown older. He could spend a whole night reading and forget to sleep if the writing was good enough to have him hooked. He loved stories of all kind, and this one in particular was a very interesting one, even if you put aside the fact that he was indeed becoming one of its protagonists and might even find death during its course of events.

He was childishly brooding about this internally, when a loud knock on the shrine's door made them all jump in surprise. Shin let out a small whine.

« But Kai-Senpai, you said I could have diner with you tonight ! Why are they coming to get me so soon ? » 

« Don't worry, Prince Shin, it's probably a misandurstanding. I'm going to explain them again. »

Kai walked towards the door and opened it with a frown, after having thrown a look at Ruki, who was frowning too. Neither did the High Priest nor Koron felt whoever these people were approach, and it was weird, to say the least. Three silhouettes wearing thick dark capes were at the doorstep in the poor light of dusk, their faces masked by their large hoods. 

« Hum... Yes ? » The young druid looked confused and wary, and it made Reita frown too. These men didn't look like the soldiers of the castle.Who were these guys and what did they want ? And where the hell was Tora ? The bodyguard should be there to protect Ruki, what if-

« Is it a way to welcome your brother, you bad-mannered brat ? Will you finally let us in or will we have to be found out by this bastard King's soldiers before you make up your mind, dummy ?» A low and exasperated voice came from one of the man.

Kai all but squealed, reaching for the stranger's arms and pulling them in forcefully, the two other strangers following hurriedly. Ruki had jumped on his feet the moment he'd heard the man speak, letting his precious books fall on the ground without a care in the world (and disturbing Koron's peaceful nap) as he was throwing himself on the First Hood (well Reita didn't really know how to call these guys) just like Kai just did. Reita was confused. Were Kai and Ruki trying to hug the man to death ? Because it strangely looked like it. A muffled laughter from under the hood reassured the Prince. Whoever was under this cape didn't seem to fear for his life. Two delicate white hands came out of the folds of the cape and caught the hood, making it fall backwards. 

Under it was probably the most gorgeous face Reita had ever seen. Dark blonde hair, sharp features, lovely nose, brooding eyes and a mouth most women would kill either to possess themselves or to have on theirs. The young man crinkled his nose mischievously. 

« Surprise ! »

Kai merely laughed in disbelief, as Ruki snorted, shaking his head, before he was throwing himself at the newcomer again, hugging him tightly as he was embraced warmly. Reita felt something gnaw at his guts not very pleasantly. He didn't know who the stranger was, even if he was beginning to have clues about it, but what he didn't know was the exact nature of the relationship between this boy and the High Priest. Not that it was important, in fact.

Ruki was quick to let the man go, though, and he was now scolding him, fondness not totally leaving his look.

« What the hell are you doing here, doofus ? Do you have any idea of what the King would do if he found out our Great Mage isn't even protecting the Coven ? And why are you out there risking your life crossing these woods on your own, with only two people ? Damn, Uru, you're so reckless !.

The two men who were standing behind the young Great Mage chose this moment to reveal their faces and Reita felt like he'd been punched in his stomach. He let out a sharp cry, which gained him the attention of the entire group, Ruki's eyes widened, realizing that he'd been too confused by the arrival of his friend that he'd forgot the protection spell he was used to put in order to make people think that the Prince was still in a coma. He also figured out in the span of a second that the two men accompanying Uruha were total strangers, not mages like he first thought, and it pushed him to throw himself in the way of the tallest of the two who was hurrying towards Reita's bed. He was standing in front of the man with a deadly glare and a threatening finger pointed at him. 

« I'd rather warn you, stranger, you really shouldn't make one more step. I don't know what you want from this man, but he's under my care and I won't hesitate to take any measure to protect him, even if it means that I have to hurt or kill-» 

« It's okay, Your Grace, it's- He's- My brother » Reita's voice was cracking with the emotion, and Ruki was left speechless as the dark haired man was pushing him aside and rushing to the bed and embracing the young Prince, both of them too emotional to even talk. 

The third man chose this moment to speak. He had blonde hair and a round, pretty face with a huge smile. His eyes were a bit teary. 

« We will never thank you enough for having taken care of our young Prince, Your Grace. When His Grace Uruha told us that you might have informations about Prince Reita, we weren't expecting that you were indeed keeping him under your roof. What a relief, after the absolute carnage we'd discovered in the woods, to know that he's alive. Our Majesties the King and Queen will reward you for your generosity... »

Ruki was only listening with one hear, as he was watching the royal brother's reunion. Reita's brother was letting him go, looking at him with worried and pained eyes.

« I am so happy-We are so happy to find you alive ! We were so, so worried and so afraid that you could have been murdered too ! But you're so pale, damn, and you have lost so much weight. How are you feeling ? »

Reita wiped a tear that had just escaped his left eye, and offered his brother a shaky excuse of a smile.

« I'm- I'm good. I mean, I was dying when His Grace pulled me out the castle's dungeon. If it hadn't been for him, I would probably had died there. He and Yutaka took great care of me, and thanks to them I'd be soon healthy enough. » He turned to the High Priest, his smile a bit more assured. « Your Grace, please meet my brother Aoi, and one of our best soldier, Nao. You come here, dumbass, I need to hug you ! » The young man let out a laugh and came to hug his prince as he was asked.

Ruki, Yutaka and Uruha had watched the scene unfold without a word, but now the High priest wanted answers. He bowed slightly before Reita's brother, who in turn bowed deeply.

« It's such an honor to meet you, your Grace. His Grace Uruha holds you in such high regards and talks about you with so much praises. I will forever-We-The whole kingdom, actually -will forever be in your debt for rescuing my brother. We've been so scared, and so lost, not finding him anywhere and not knowing if we would ever see him again. It's such a relief, you have no idea. We will have to find a way to thank you properly for this, and I mean, if there's anything we can do for you, I promise to do my best to make you have it. But first things first, we're going to bring Reita back home, and then- »

Ruki's frown stopped the Prince's ranting. How was it possible for someone so short to look that intimidating ? 

« I'm afraid, Prince Aoi, that what you're planning isn't possible for now. »

Aoi shook his head, smilling reassuringly, hoping his legendary charm would be enough to convince the High priest to let his brother under his care.

« Don't worry, Your Grace. Our old mage is skilled in healing, and he will take good care of Reita. »

« I'm quite sure of that, but His Majesty won't go anywhere soon. I can't allow it. » The High Priest answered sternly, his posture stiff and his eyes cold.

The oldest Prince's face darkened, and it was his turn now to frown warily. 

« I don't understand, Your Grace. Why wouldn't you allow it ? And why should we wait for your permission to allow my brother to come back home ? » His tone was borderline threatening, and even if he'd been anything but polite and collected until now, anybody could have seen that the mood was about to shift drastically.

Reita cleared his throat. He knew too well Aoi and his tendencies to have a short temper and to take offence on trivial things. He couldn't let this happen.

« His Grace is right, Aoi. I won't come with you, at least for now. »

Aoi turned to him with wide eyes, his voice raising a little bit above what could be considered to be a proper conversational tone.

« What the hell are you talking about now ? Of course you're coming with us, there's no way I'm going to let you here and come back empty handed to our parents! Are you crazy ? »

Uruha chose this moment to come and put a comforting hand on the eldest prince's forearm, his tone soothing.

« Your Majesty. » 

Aoi turned to him, and the Great Mage was glad to see the little sparkles beginning to dance in the Prince's aura again, now that his attention had been drawn to him again. The man seemed to be distracted for a few seconds, as he was staring in Uruha's eyes, and he visibly relaxed. He blinked, tilting his head a little, waiting for the mage to talk.

« I think we're going a bit ahead of ourselves here. We need to talk first, to explain what our situation is, because it's not as simple as it seems, and there are many things at stake here. So, maybe, Kai-kun could cook us something like only him knows to -I can assure you won't be disappointed- and we could share some beer, and in the meantime we could all say what we have to say, what about that ? »

Aoi seemed to ponder for a brief moment, but in the end he just gave in to the Mage's hopefull smile. Had someone ever resisted something so bright and charming ? He nodded, sighing deeply, all anger and frustration gone, to his youngest brother's utmost confusion. Aoi'd never been someone prone to compromise and patience, especially when he was stressed or tired, which he was obviously both. Reita crossed Nao's eyes briefly, the soldier only smirking back slightly at the astonished look the young Prince gave him, shrugging nonchalantly.

« Okay, you're probably right, Your Grace. » 

« You'll learn that I'm never « probably » right, Your majesty. More like « always » right ! » The young mage replied cheekily, making Ruki snort loudly, as Nao, Kai and Reita were chuckling, the tension fading away.

« Is Kai-sempai gonna cook soon ? I'm so hungry ! » A little voice came from the velvety armchair, where Shin had retreated when the three men had showed up at the door. He'd taken back Koron on his lap, and the two of them where sitting there, watching the scene unfold silently. Until food was mentioned, that is. 

Kai chuckled again fondly at the little boy, that he went to scoop in his arms and perch on his hip.

« Yeah I'm going to prepare something. Would you like to help me with this ? »

Uruha had been watching the exchange with furrowed brows, but a mischievous grin.

« Wait a minute there ? Did you and Tora finally get married ? Has it been so long since we didn't see each other that you found the time to actually have a child together ? Where's your man by the way ?»

Kai scoffed and glared at him, the others sharing amused looks, and Ruki was quick to intervene, knowing full well how this was going to end, having already witnessed it too many times. 

« Uru, just drop it, will you ? Prince Shin is the son of the King of this castle, and I will explain everything to you after. And Kai, just do as if you didn't hear anything, right ? Maybe take Shin with you to cook us diner, and we will wait for Tora to come home so that we will all have that talk. »

Nao proposed his help for cooking, as it seemed that it was a hobby of his whenever his soldiers duties let him the time to do so. Ruki went to the little cellar of their garden and brought back three huge jugs full of beer, and poured some in four tankards. Uruha had invited Aoi to sit down with him at the table, and the Prince looked at the numbers of tankards behind him confusedly. Ruki smiled.

« I can count, Your Majesty, don't worry. I'm just very rarely drinking alcohol, it's bad for our powers. As Uruha will have to go back to the Coven at some point, I don't want him to drink either. » 

The young Mage pouted at that, and Aoi thought in himself that no grown-up man should be allowed to be this cute.

« You know I'm right, don't try to coax me into letting you drink, you know it won't work ! » The High Priest added.

Aoi was glad he wasn't the one in charge of telling the young mage what he could do or not, because he wouldn't be able to deny Uruha anything. 

« And Prince Reita isn't allowed to drink either, as he's been really badly injured and alcohol at this stage of healing isn't a good thing. » 

Reita faked to be upset. Ruki shook his head in an amused way. 

« Damn Your Majesty, if you too act like a spoilt child I'm gonna have to be more severe from now on ! » 

He walked to the kitchen counter where Kai, Nao and Shin were chopping vegetables, chatting like old acqaintances, and grabbed some hot milk that he poured into a mug, paired with some cinnamon and honey, and brought it to Reita, who grinned delightfully. 

« Thank you so much, Your Grace. No need to be more severe, I promise I'm gonna be a good patient as long as I can have milk ! » Ruki chuckled . 

« Deal ! »

The two young men smiled at each other for some time, until Uruha cleared his throat, making Ruki turn towards him with a raised brow. Uruha was looking at him with wide eyes and a mischievous smirk, and beside him, Aoi looked confused. 

Before any of them could speak, though, the door opened and Tora's tall silhouette appeared. He first looked confused to see that there were more people in the room than what he'd been expecting, but his face lightened up at Uruha's sight. He closed the door behind him, letting the sword he was holding near the door, and reached Uruha in no time, hugging him tightly. 

« What the hell are you doing here, Uru-chan ? »

« Hey, don't Uru-chan me, I'm the current headmaster of the coven, remember ? » Uruha slapped his arm playfully. « It's Your Grace, you know, what you should call me ! » 

Tora merely smiled, hugging the boy again.

« In your dreams, maybe, Your Grace-chan ! » He stopped then, remembering that there were other people in the room. His eyes fell on Aoi, who'd stayed silent but was looking at their reunion with a curious stare.

Uruha was quick to react.

« Tora, this is His Majesty Aoi, heir of the Shiroyama Kingdom, brother of Prince Reita. We were actually waiting for you to arrive to explain why we're here and what exactly is going on. » 

Tora began to bow, and Aoi stood in front of him, preventing him from bowing too much, offering him his hand instead.

« It's okay, I should be the one to bow. You saved my brother, we're eternally indebted to you all. Thank you. »

Tora scratched the back of his neck, flustered.

« Hu... Thank you, Your Majesty, but honestly, His Grace and Yutaka have been the ones to do all the work. I'm just a bodyguard, you know ! » 

« Tsk, you're not just a bodyguard, don't be like that, you know you- »

Uruha's words were cut suddenly, as Tora was realizing that Kai wasn't cooking alone with Shin as he'd previously assumed. Actually, Kai was laughing at something Nao had just said. His face went from welcoming and warm, to upset in an instant. 

« Who's this ? »

Uruha rolled his eyes as Ruki was letting an exasperated sigh, Aoi once more confused by what was happening, looking at Reita with wide eyes. Shin, who'd just finished washing his hands after having helped to cook some rice, went running to Tora, jumping in his arms as the bodygard was still looking with a frown at Nao, who was working side by side with Kai. 

« Please meet Nao, he's one of the best soldiers of the Shiroyama Kingdom, and Prince Aoi's and Prince reita's childhood friend. » Kai announced, all dimples out.

« Oh. » Tora walked to the kitchen counter, placing himself right before the soldier. He was towering him, and Nao winced a bit at how tall and intimidating Tora was. « Nice to meet you, Nao-san, now you can go sit down and have a beer with your Prince, I'll give Kai a hand for preparing diner, as usual. Kitchen isn't really a place for a soldier, right ?»

Kai was looking at him like he had grown two heads. 

« So, Kai-kun, what do you want me to do ? » Tora said, a smug smile on his lips as he was circling his arm around Kai's waist. Nao didn't lose time to do what Tora just suggested and went to sit beside Aoi, who was still beyond confused, under the amused stares of Reita, Uruha and Ruki. 

Uruha wiggled his eyebrow at Aoi, gesturing to his two friends at the kitchen counter and mouthing « jealous ». Aoi couldn't help but smile at how adorable Uruha acted around his friends, and looked at the domestic scene unfolding in the kitchen, as Tora, now with a very enthusiastic Shin on his back, was gathering plates and bowls to set the table, Kai trying to glare at him for the cold treatment he'd given to Nao, but failing miserably when Tora gave him a toothy grin, coupled with a shoulder bump. 

They moved the table, so that Reita could both stay in bed and share their diner, which was spent in innocent talk, after Ruki had told that there wouldn't be any serious discussion while Shin was still with them, and that Tora would bring the little boy at the castle just when they would be done eating. The young mages were a bit taken aback by how lively and chatty Uruha was. Usually, he was rather a quiet one, prefering to listen than to talk, but tonight he was indeed telling one story after another, mostly about the shenanigans his « brothers » and him had been involved when they were kids. Shin was laughing hard, and the whole group was very entertained by these stories.

As Kai was at the kitchen counter to grab some more food, Ruki coming to help him, he said with a fond smile. 

« It seems that our Uru-pon has missed having company, right ? » 

Ruki smiled, turning to look at the young mage who was animatedly counting one of their adventures, Shin captivated by his side, and his smile paled a bit when he noticed a pair of dark eyes following each and every of Uruha's movement and the look of awe on Aoi's face, and the way Uruha's eyes shifted from each one of the people sat at the table to always come back on the Prince, his grin widening a bit more each time he noticed he still had Aoi's attention.

Ruki couldn't see it, but Uruha was spurred by the myriad of little sparkles of Aoi's aura, that had been peppering the air around him each time they crossed eyes.

« Yeah, it seems so. » 

He said, biting the inside of his cheek. It was none of his business, but he knew he would have to drop soon an information that would probably not please Reita's brother much. 

Ruki's thoughts were quickly diverted when Shin asked Aoi if he was as brave as Reita, making the older brother smile gently. 

« Father always say that being brave is the most important for a prince. That, and being strong and feared. And I'm nothing of this. »The little boy said sadly. 

Aoi frowned at that. 

« I think being brave is important, yes. I don't know if I'm as brave as Reita, because I don't know if I would be able to endure what he's been through, but I'm trying my best. But I do think that courage is a thing that grows with age, you know ? I don't think you have to be the bravest, at your age. You need to learn a lot of things first, and then courage will come as you'll get older. Being a good kid who does his best is what's more important, in my opinion. Being strong can be good, but not always necessary. And being feared, well, I would say that it depends on who you want to impress. What do you think, prince Shin ? Can't you think about others qualities that a prince would need ?»

The little prince seemed to think hard, before he replied. 

« I think being kind is important, too, because Kai-Sempai always praises me about it, and he's very smart, so there's this. And I don't want people to be afraid of me, I 'd rather have people to want to talk to me. But I know nothing, that's what Father says anyways. He said that he would teach me how to become a man, but I don't think I want to. » He said with a pout, making the adults coo at him.

At Shin's utmost despair, it was time then to come back to his aisle of the castle. He bid his goodbye to Aoi, Nao and Uruha reluctantly, the fact that he had to go a bit less burdening when Kai said that he was coming along with Tora to bring him home. 

The two men and the little boy gone, Ruki prepared some tea -and Reita's favorite milk- and they all gathered around the table again, Ruki choosing to sit at the foot of Reita's bed instead. The talk they were going to have promised to be long and fastidious, so they'd all briefly agreed that Kai would be the one to talk first. Reita pipped in, saying that maybe he could explain shortly everything Ruki had told him, just to « put things in place », as he quoted. Ruki was pleasantly surprised that the young Prince was ready to help through his story, and he nodded with a smile, Reita answering with one of his own. 

Once Tora and Kai were back and comfortably settled at the table with steaming mugs of tea, Reita began to speak, sometimes looking at Ruki as if to ask him confirmation that he'd recalled correctly. Ruki was amazed by all Reita could remember of what he'd told him, honestly. Soon the story was coming to an end as Reita's knowledge of their adventures was exposed for everyone. Ruki thanked him, Kai pouring some more tea on the empty mugs, and clearing his throat, preparing to speak. Ruki was a bit tense, but the expecting smile on the youngest Prince's face made him smile nonetheless. He wasn't lying when he's confessed to be an avid listener.

Kai began to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will never repeat this enough, I'm craving your comments :) <3


	12. Allies and ennemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! 
> 
> This chapter is a very important one, as it explains a lot of the background plot. I hope I've been able to convey all I wanted properly and didn't mess up things. I also hope it's clear enough! I feel like my mind is fried lately, and I have the worse difficulties to focus, so yeah, I cross my fingers for you to enjoy it! Also, it's quite long, I thought for a moment that I would cut it in two but I didn't, take it as a special thanks for you all who are still reading it!  
> Let's go!

And Kai began to talk. 

_ The actual King Tetsuo was the son of old King Tetsuo, who died abou t six year s earlier. After the death of his beloved wife, as his only heir was only fourteen, he had sent him abroad, to study the art of reigning amongst other rulers in different countries. He thought that maybe it could help his rebellious and stubborn teenage son to become a fair and good king. Old King Tetsuo didn't believe in wars and quarels, only in diplomacy and justice. Since all the kingdoms of the Great Alliance had signed the Pact many years before, he didn't see any reasons to focus on military purposes when there was no need of them in the first place, but he wanted his son to honour his subjects and rule in wisdom and good will, just like he'd tried his best to do during his own long reign.  _

_ When the young Prince Tetsuo finally came back home to stay, Old King Tetsuo was very happy, as he thought that he would now teach him everything about their kingdom and help him to train to steer his people and land until he'd be ready to retire and let the young man be the King he was promised to be.  _

_ Alas, things didn't really went according to the old King's plans.  _

_ His son had agreed to marry a young princess of a neighbour Kingdom that had no male heir, which made their own kingdom win a few interesting territories full of promises. But the Princess, much to her own despair, had a rather weak health, and despite being pregnant several times, wasn't able to carry one of her pregnancies to term.  _

_ The miscarriages never missed to put the young Prince through fits of rage.  _

_ The young man had seen and learnt many things during his studies and trips abroad, but there are things such as humanity, kindness or patience, that can't be learnt if you don't have them in you in the first place. He hadn't seen the opportunities his father, in good faith, was offering him, to travel and enhance his knowledge as such. He'd felt vexed and had seen it as a punishment, as a forced exile, and that had turned the selfish, arrogant and petty teenager he was back then into a vengeful, calculating, power-thirsty young man. Which wouldn't have been such a terrible thing maybe, if he hadn't also been smart, cultured and hard working.  _

_ Since he couldn't bear failure, he was quickly exasperated with the poor young Princess, and she was soon found dead, the Prince claiming the cause of it being the grief caused by the amount of born-dead babies she'd had to bury.  _

_ The people then still believed in their future King and didn't thought there could be something fishy behind the Princess'death. The Old King, on the other hand, was becoming a bit wary about his son. He'd been very close to the young Princess, who was the daughter of one of his oldest and dearest friend, and whom he'd considered right from the start like the daughter he hadn't had the chance to have. It turned out that the day before her death, the young woman had had diner with him, and was feeling quite good, if a bit depressed by her most recent miscarriage.  _

_ The Old King made a few discreet inquiries, asking his own old mage, Okuda, to take a look at the Princess body before it got burried next to the too many tombs of her dead children. And the old mage was adamant : the young woman had been poisoned.  _

_ From then on, all went downhill.  _

_ To avoid the scandal, the old King didn't reveal the reason of his daughter in law's death, and they set up the most royal funerals for her, to pay hommage to her gentle and bright soul. But right after, the King asked his son to give him some explainations.  _

_ The Prince first denied the evidence, then finally confessed with much disdain and lack of remorse that he couldn't keep by his side someone useless that wasn't even able to give him an heir. An intense fight followed, and his father, appaled to find out how much of a heartless monster his son was, threatened to disown him. The Prince stormed out of the Throne Room, mad with rage, and a few days later it was the old King's turn to be found dead in his bed.  _

_ Young Tetsuo convened all the royal councillors in the Throne Room to announce that Old King Tetsuo had succumbed to his grief after the young Princess' death. He asked them to get everything ready in the shortest time, to prepare his crowning along with his new wedding with a Princess he'd chosen amongst the richest and most glorious family of the kingdom.  _

_ That's when peolpe began to have suspicions about their new King, but it was already too late. The young Tetsuo was soon King, and he eliminated, one after another, each one of the people who'd tried to get in his way.  _

_ Eventually, his new wife gave birth to a healthy son, but the King had never considered that the new Queen would have wanted to rule by his side. She soon became too annoying and demanding, and the young King had no qualms to send her resting in peace next to his previous unlucky spouse. _

_ The thing is, young Tetsuo had been eager to learn during the years he'd been abroad.  _

_ He'd understood from the beginning that his ambitions, not only to rule and control his own kingdom, but also his strong desire to extend his dominance over new territories, would probably be easier if he was prepared. He'd learnt about diplomacy, about history, about fighting and war tactics, and he'd worked hard on these, even if more often than not he'd been far from being thrilled by these lessons. _

_ But the subject that's been fascinating him to no end, the one he had never been tired of, was magic.  _

_ Everywhere he'd been, he'd learned about local magic, questionning the sorcerers and mages, scribbling down on notebooks everything he deemed interesting enough for his future. The first thing he did when he returned back home was to invade the quarters of his own family's old mage, Okuda, and learn more things from the books he owned.  _

_ The old mage hasn't been delighted to see the young Prince want to read texts that weren't destined to a non-magic audience, but Tetsuo was quick to threaten him, so he let him be. The old man was content with just hiding some books from this nosy Prince, which Tora and Kai found in an old chest hidden under jars of dried plants in the kitchen of the shrine when they were brought here with Ruki, and had kept them there. Ruki had begun to read these old books, which was a tedious task since they were in an ancient language, but as the young High Priest had told his friends, if old Okuda had deemed these books important enough to keep them hidden from Testsuo's greedy hands, they had to have things and informations in them that may help them to find a solution to their problem. _

_ Tetsuo, however, had already decided that to achieve his plan of becoming the powerful ruler of a bigger united Kingdom, of the Empire he was dreaming of, (Emperor Tetsuo sounded impressive, indeed), he had to pursue two goals.  _

_ One of them was to train a massive army, which he'd already begun to gather. The other one was to have the most powerful mage he could find by his side, to recruit him for his only use, to win him over to the only cause of the expansion and wealth of his Empire. _

_ On the various history books he'd read, the only occurrences where Kings had succeeded with their dreams of glory and conquered new lands, they always had mages of some sort to support their army, and he was very much adamant on putting all the chances on his side. Unfortunately, the castle's own mage was old and more skilled in healing magic than anything else, and even there his magic wasn't that impressive.  _

_ That's why King Tetsuo began to lead research expeditions, travelling up and down the lands of the area, crossing villages and asking about the covens around. And that's how he ended up discovering the Black Moon Coven's existence. It took him some time to obtain an interview with the High Priest of the Coven. He'd sent some messengers in the villages the mages usually visited to supply themselves in the little food they didn't produce themselves, to give messages asking the High Priest to please consider granting King Tetsuo an audience, under the pretense of paying him a courtesy visit, to strenghten the links between the Kingdom and the Coven. Tetsuo didn't want to get on the supposed old and mighty High Priest's bad side, so he'd acted as diplomatic and protocolar as he might. And when his patience was beginning to run thin with time, he'd received an official invitation to meet the High Priest. _

_ Two young mages had waited for them at the edge of the woods to guide them through the hidden paths that lead to the Coven, and Tetsuo had brought with him many offerings, wine, cheese, and some precious wooden chests he'd brought back from his travels, full of splendid silky fabrics, incense or dried exotic fruits. _

_ When they'd arrived at the Coven, Tetsuo had been impressed. The main building wasn't even that big, and he could almost see all of the fences that closed the mages' domain from where he stood on his horse, so he could guess that the area wasn't rather wide. But everything looked so neat, so well kept, and so pretty. The Royal cortege was welcomed by the young Druid of the coven and a tall stern looking Mage, who bowed deeply and introduced themselves as the right-hand man and bodyguard of His Grace Ruki, the Black Moon Coven's High Priest.  _

_ As the two mages were about to take them to the High Priest's reception office, the King humoured them by asking for a tour of the domain. They obliged, the tallest of them staying silent, while the other was guiding them with an easy smile, naming the main building as « the mansion » since it was the heart of the community, that's where the dormitory and private bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and bathrooms were. It also contained the infirmary. They passed a few houses, among which were the small school, the druid's and apothecary laboratory and the little blacksmith workshop, and then they walked along some fields, some of them where cows and sheeps were grazing lazily, some others where mages where working. Everything seemed peacefull and quiet, everybody minding their own business, not paying attention to their special guests whatsoever. The tour was quickly done, and they were soon back near the mansion. The King noticed the remains of what seemed to be a burnt house, a bit hidden behind the beautiful and delicate shrine that stood a bit aside from the Mansion.  _

_ He followed the mages inside the building, walking in a long hallway to stop before a closed door. _

_ And whatever Tetsuo could have imagined, he wasn't expecting what he saw. It seems that he'd been instantly obsessed by the blinding personnality and strong charisma of the young High Priest, to the point that what he came to the Coven for was suddenly forgotten, and the King had only one idea left.  _

_ He wanted Ruki's powers, and he also wanted Ruki by his side, and preferably in his bed, too. The interview went by easily, Ruki, despite his young age, mastering perfectly diplomacy. But, also despite his young age, Ruki was smart, and wary, and he knew that Kings weren't usually paying courtesy visits and offering expensive gifts for the fun of it, and that's what he told King Tetsuo when he walked him back to his horse. The King merely smirked, even more enamoured by the young man now that he realized that he was clever at the top of everything else. _

_ He decided he had to give the High Priest some informations if he wanted to be trusted, and that's what he did.  _

_ He told him that he was looking for a new Mage for his Castle. He wanted someone to share Okuda's burden, because the man was getting very old and he wanted someone younger, to learn from his old mage too. He also told Ruki, in what he wanted the young man to see as a desarming act of sincerity, that he'd been travelling abroad, and that he'd seen how strong and succesful monarch who ruled with mages by their side were, and that he'd decided that he wanted this for his realm too, that he wanted to help the Covens to find back their ancient place in society, their ancient grandeur.  _

_ He talked about « sparking a trend », Kings offering Covens a safe place between their walls, building them houses and shrines and places to live. He talked about schools for kids with Potential, an easier way for the mages to detect them and educate them. _

_ Ruki stayed silent, observing and listening. He bowed politely at the end of Tetsuo's elated discourse, thanking him for all his thoughtfulness and gifts. He said that he would consider the King's proposal as for finding a new mage, but that as far as they were concerned, he had noone to subject him. He explained that, as they were a small coven, he needed each and every of his members and couldn't afford to lose one of them. He also added, to a very sceptical King, that they were far to be as powerful as the King would need, but that he would report his words and proposal to the other Covens around.  _

_ Actually, he answered the King's offer with as much diplomacy and tact, but it equalled a « thanks but no thanks » all the same. Tetsuo, vexed and frustrated , went back to his castle, still convinced that he would find a way to not only achieve his goal, but also to win Ruki to his cause. The thrill of the chase somehow made the thing even better.  _

_ Ruki, who'd been very displeased after the first visit of the King, was hopeful that things would stay where they were. Alas Tetsuo was stubborn, and persistent. _

_ The thing was, Tetsuo knew very well how things were concerning mages and relationships. The old texts were very clear about it. Mages were only allowed to have sex on one condition : procreate. It was the one and only exception to the rule, and sex was even more forbiden between people of the same gender.  _

_ It was considered as heresy.  _

_ The punishment for it was serious, but not as serious as what it could imply : mages were taught from their youngest age that having sex with someone that wouldn't result in creating a new life would surely and totaly wreck their Potential, stripping the persons involved of any magic.  _

_ Which was the reason why Old Ancients had made sure to banish most women without or with little Potential from the Covens : getting rid of the temptation was somehow an effective way to prevent incidents to happen. Magic, as weird as it was, was more rarely found in the feminine part of the population. Great Ancients all agreed that the fact that all women were already gifted with some kind of powerful magic with the ability of giving birth, and that's probably why they were more rarely gifted with Potential. Girls with potential were most of the time kept by their families and lived amongst the population.  _

_ Tetsuo had a dilemma there. As much as he wanted Ruki for his magic (and he was sure the High Priest had a powerful one, as he knew Dogma's rules by heart, and had learnt long ago that people, even less so people as young as Ruki, weren't graced with the title of High Priest if their Potential wasn't strong and mastered.), he was also obsessed with the idea of having Ruki for his own pleasure.  _

_ The idea of owning such a sacrosanct character as a High Priest, paired with Ruki's personality and looks, and the fact that he was a virgin, was something that consumed him. He couldn't imagine more influential union, or having a spouse that would valorize him more. He deserved no less than this beautiful High Priest. _

_ After some time (not so long, as he wasn't a patient man and Ruki's image kept on tantalizing him) Tetsuo came up with the perfect idea. He was going to make Ruki his, with or without his consent, but before consummating the marriage, Ruki's powers would be « given » to another priest, who would then become one of the most powerful mage around, and Tetsuo could both enjoy his new consort and his previous title, and have the asset of another mighty Mage by his side. Even without potential, Ruki would still be someone of great knowledge and brains, and he would also be useful outside of their bedroom, hopefully. _

_ As Ruki had rejected all the advances Tetsuo had done (and sent back each and every offering the King had done, be it perfumes, food, jewelry...), he opted then for a more striking and direct tactic. One night, after paying the coven a polite visit of courtesy, where he'd once again tried to gain the approval of the High Priest concerning their union, to no avail obviously, the King and his troups, that had been kept hidden the whole day not far away from the area that were watched by the Coven's guardians, had burst back into the Sanctuary, torches alight in every soldiers hands, some of them taking a few men and children who were running in panic around, hostages with their swords. Tetsuo had waited for Ruki to go out of his chambers, which he was quick to do, in his night clothes, and his eyes burning with anger at the betrayal. As he was about to talk, fury clearly painted on his face, Tetsuo had stopped him with an opened hand from where he was standing on his horse. _

_ « Your Grace. I have been patient, and generous. I have tried to gain your affection and friendship. But you've rejected me time after time. And I can't let be said that King Tetsuo had been refused something, that wouldn't be wise of me to do so. What image would that give to my ennemies ? So from now on, consider yourself as my bride. Soon I'll send men here to take you back to my castle. I'll leave you a few days to organize everything here for your successor, and you'll be allowed to take two companions with you as servants, as your position requires. » _

_ « What if I refuse ? » Ruki asked, his chin up and his eyes flaring with wrath. _

_ « I'll burn this place and kill everyone. » The King answered sternly.  _

_ « You know perfectly that you won't be able to keep my magic if you want to use me as your wife, King Tetsuo. » _

_ The other let out a sinister smirk. _

_ « Don't you worry for this, my dear, I've already sent my men in the lands around to find someone strong enough to endure the gift of your potential. Once it will be done, and only then, I'll make you my wife. And we will rule our kingdom and expend our boundaries, and our ambition will have no limits. We're going to do great things together. » _

_ Ruki stayed still, his jaw clenched and his mind going at full speed. _

_ « Oh, and another thing, Your Grace. I've been traveling abroad, as you know, and I've taken time to study all kinds of magics, and thought that it would be convenient to get myself immune to poisons and spells. So don't even try to waste some of your precious potential to hurt me, that would be useless. And also, of course, I'll be the personal protector of this coven of yours as long as you cooperate. But I won't hesitate to burn it to ashes in retaliation if you're doing anything stupid, you understand, right ? » _

_ Ruki had nodded then, and Tetsuo and his troups had left as quickly as they'd come. _

_ Less than a week later, Ruki, Kai and Tora had moved in the Castle's shrine, like they'd been asked to until the night of the royal wedding to come, that is. And here they were. _

Silence was surroundoing them. Aoi, Reita and Nao were trying to proceed everything that had been revealed to them. 

There were so many facts to consider, they felt a bit dizzy as they were thinking about all the things at stake. Reita had thrown a glance at Tora and Kai with a sad knowing look, before looking at Ruki painfully. Aoi was side glancing at Uruha, and then he seemed to get himself together. 

« Hum, okay. That's a whole bunch of informations, thank you so much for going through the trouble of explaining all this to us, Kai-san. What I'd really want to know, now, is what happened to Reita and his squad, and how it is linked with the whole story. » 

Reita made a bitter face. Ruki threw him a concerned look, he knew how much the young Prince had been affected by this tragic event, how often he still had nightmares about it, how his soul had been hurt by the death of his companions. By Tadashi's death. 

« Do you want me to tell, Your Majesty ? » he asked softly.

Reita looked at him sadly, and shook his head no. 

« It's okay, Your Grace, I think I can handle it. » His mind was reeling, and he blamed it on the fact that he was currently recovering from serious wounds, but the fact that he'd just learned that the High Priest was going to have to marry the cruel King just bugged him at the highest level. But it wasn't the time to deal with this, Aoi was waiting for him to explain. After a deep inhale, he told them what happened. His voice shook, several times, as he was recalling the events of that dreadful day, and Aoi and Nao were listening, livid and shocked. The Young Prince ended his story when Ruki found him in the donjon, a lone tear sliding from his left eye, 

Aoi's eyes were burning with anger.

« So, this bastard murdered your whole troup just because you had no Mage with you this day ? Just because he felt like it ? And how the hell was he able to find you in the woods ? »

Ruki bit his lower lip, and sighed.

« I told Tetsuo. »

Aoi's head snapped to glare at him, his tone threatening.

« You what ? »

« It wasn't his fault. Tetsuo makes His Grace have divination sessions, he has no choice but answer the Kings' questions. And Ruki couldn't know what this bastard was going to do with these informations. Beside, without His Grace, Kai and Tora, I wouldn't have survived any of this, and we wouldn't know how much of a psycho Tetsuo is, and the danger he represents not only for the Coven, but also for all the Kingdoms around. And his Grace did his best to make it up to me, and to our dead friends, too. » 

Reita was quick to come to Ruki's defence, to the utmost surprise of the High Priest. And he even shared with his brother and Nao how Ruki had tried to soften their friends'trespass, and how he'd taken some of his own pain away. 

« And just so you know, when he does that, he has to feel the pain he's taking away from you. So, Yeah. We'd better think about something to thwart Tetsuo's plans, instead of focusing on details that won't lead us anywhere. We're all on the same side, here, and that is what matters. » He added with a stern tone, avoiding to cross Ruki's eyes.

The High Priest felt weird. 

It was a thing to know that Reita didn't resent him to the point of wanting to kill him anymore, (and a good thing, indeed, he quite liked to not fear for his life, mind you.), but to know that he actually looked like he had forgiven him and was adamant on defending him, well. Ruki didn't know what to do with this information. 

He knew he wasn't looking for absolution in any way, he'd done what he'd done, and if he regretted sincerely the outcome of the situation, he knew he hadn't had any other choice than to obey Tetsuo's orders. But hearing the young Prince just explaining this lifted a heavy weight he wasn't aware of off his shoulders. And it made something in his chest swell and warm up.

« Actually... » Nao spoke, seemingly deep in thoughts. « I'd like to summarize the situation, to make it simpler for us. So, basically, you're forced to stay here and marry the bastard, otherwise he'll kill and burn everybody and everything from your community, right ? »

« Right. » Tora nodded. He kinda liked how Nao exposed the facts. 

« What have you come up with until now ? Did you think about something that could prevent this ? »

Ruki shook his head, a bitter frown on his lips.

« No. We have absolutely no idea on how to escape the fate Tetsuo imagined for us. I've been through most of Okuda's books, thinking that maybe he would have hidden them there because there would be things to help us, but to no avail. I also thought that maybe I could find a way to arm him despite him being immune to any magic threat, but didn't find any answer about this neither. For now, we only have been lucky because he hasn't found any mage that could handle my power. Once he'd found him, though, I have no doubt that the wedding ceremony will be quick to follow. Tetsuo is all but a patient man. »

« Wait a minute, there's something I don't understand. Why doesn't he let his old mage take your magic ? Is he too old for that ? Or not powerful enough ? » Aoi asked suddenly.

« Well, you see... Old Okuda had understood almost from the beginning that his young King wasn't exactly as peaceful and kind as his father. And as time went by, and Tetsuo's obsession towards Ruki became obvious, the old mage was told by Tetsuo himself about his plans. It seems that Okuda took the hint that things were going to go downhill, and the old mage, despite not contradicting his ruler, was totally and viscerally opposed to everything Tetsuo wanted to achieve. The mage took the time to write a letter and hide some of his most precious books in the shrine, so that Tetsuo wouldn't be able to use them for his sick dreams, and we discovered them when we moved in. That's how we learnt some details. We'd learned what follows by some of the King's soldiers Tora befriended. When Okuda realized that Tetsuo was planning his expedition to the Coven to blackmail Ruki about causing havok amongst his people and home, and that he would have to play the rôle of the magic recipient, he just tried to talk some sense into him. No need to say, the King didn't take well that his own mage argued with him. At some point, as Okuda was explaining that no matter if he wanted it or not, he would never survive the transfer of the High Priest's magic, because he was indeed both too old and not strong enough to handle it. The King apparently snapped at that, and cut his throat right there and then in the middle of the throne room, before throwing chairs and pieces of furnitures around in a fit of fury. He ordered the guards to clean everything after, and warned them : he'd killed Okuda because he was useless as he couldn't serve his master's plans properly, and anyone deemed useless would have to suffer the same treatment. No need to say that everybody in the castle wouldn't even dream od disobeying. »

Aoi made a face. Of course that's how this kind of ruler would react.

« I have a question, if I may ? » Nao asked shyly. « I didn't know there was such things as giving Potential between mages. How does it work ? Isn't is dangerous ? »

Kai sighed at that.

« Yes, it's dangerous. Not as deadly or damaging as giving Potential to a someone who has none, but still. That's why Tetsuo has to find one either powerful or young enough. We're lucky he hasn't deemed any of us strong enough to be Ruki's « recipient », otherwise we would already be doomed. Luckily, we were clever enough to let him think that we weren't that powerful. » He said darkly.

Tora pipped in.

« By the way, I learnt from Yamada-san, one of the guard of the main door, just before coming back that the King was setting up an expedition to find a proper Mage. It seems that our dear King is bored to wait, and that he will be gone for the next days. Hiromasa chose his most trustful men to accompany them (by most trustful I mean the cruelest and strongest), and he'd told them that they wouldn't come back before finding what they were looking for. And that they would go to any lenght to bring back a mage, even if they had to slash and burn whole villages to do so. And that in last resort, they would use Prince Reita, conscious or not, to ask for the Shiroyama's mage in exchange of his life.» The tall bodyguard looked guilty to be to bringer of such bad news.

Ruki paled. That wasn't good. He'd expected to have more time to think about a solution, but it seemed that time wasn't on their side anymore.

« Damn. I have no idea how we're going to get out of this mess. Prince Aoi, I changed my mind. You have to take Prince Reita with you, because I don't know if we'll be able to protect him-»

« Hey, no ! You can't do that ! I won't go anywhere ! If Tetsuo were to find that I disappeared, he would surely punish you and-» Reita frowned.

« Your Majesty, don't be stupid, there's nothing we can do- »

« I have an idea. » Aoi's stern voice stopped the arguing, as he was narrowing his eyes confusedly, looking at the High Priest bickering with his young brother.

All turned to him expectantly.

« It's simple, but we'll need a bit of time to make it work. Look, there's this old but still fonctionnal building next to our castle- »

« The old girl's school ! » Reita said in awe, his eyes widening as he was beginning to see where his brother was going.

« Yeah. There are some old barns, some other abandonned smallest houses around. It's nothing fantastic, and it would need some fixing and stuff, but it could do for some time. It's protected by the surrounding walls of the Castle, too. And of course we would help, and we could also build a shrine, obviously. » He stopped, as all eyes were focused on him. Ruki was waiting, holding his breath. Was Aoi really offering what he thought he was ? The Prince resumed talking. « What I'm saying is... We could move your community from your place to our land. It's going to take a few days, because of course we won't be able to do this in one ride, and we will have to be cautious if we don't want somebody to see us and talk, but I think this could work. Then, once the community will be safe and out of Tetsuo's reach, we will come back here and help you to escape. And we will make this bastard pay for his crimes. Each one of them, beginning by the slaughter of our friends. »

They all stayed silent, and waited for Ruki to talk.

«This could work. » The young High Priest said, albeit reluctantly. « But it goes against everything I believe in. If we actually follow your plan, Tetsuo will be hunting us high and low and won't have any rest until he'd killed each one of us. And this will probably trigger a war between this kingdom and yours, put your people in danger, put you and your family in danger. I don't know if I can live with that. » 

Aoi's face darkened.

« With or without the whole « saving-your-coven-and-community-stuff », the issue will be the same. Tetsuo attacked our people and murdered them like animals, despite the Peace Act, despite everything that's holy or legal. He knew what he risked when he did it, and he just didn't care. Each step he takes is to strenghten his forces, with the sole aim of expending his territories, and wars will inevitably follow your union with him. We'd better fight him right before he becomes too strong. If someone unleashed a war, Your Grace, it's not you. You've done your best to avoid it, and it wasn't enough, but nothing in this situation is your fault. Testsuo will have to pay for his acts, and believe me, he will. And the price will be oh so high. »

Ruki had no doubts, looking at the young Prince's eyes, burning with a savage desire at the idea of a revenge, that Tetsuo would probably have some fierce adversary once the moment came. 

« I'd say that Prince Aoi's right, Ru. We don't have any idea to get out of this situation, and he offers us a way out. I think we should consider it, even if of course you're the one deciding. » Uruha said softly, his words provoquing an eruption of little glittering specks in Aoi's aura. 

Tora and Kai were looking at him expectantly too, waiting for him to voice his opinion.

He sighed, defeated. 

« Well, it's not like we have much of a choice, right ? But I'd like to be sure, really sure, that we all agree on this, because it's not my decision to make. It's our community, and I need your support for this. Who's in favor of following Prince Aoi's proposal ? »

At his utmost relief, Tora, Kai and Uruha all lifted their hands. What was unexpected, though, was Reita's hand. That he lifted eagerly. Ruki turned to him, surprised, and Aoi arched an eyebrow at his brother. 

« I think His Grace asked his people to give their opinion, not you, dummy. » He pointed with a smirk.

Reita blushed.

« Well, I thought I could tell what I thought about it, too. » He muttered, before turning towards the High Priest, his cheeks aflame. « I'm sorry, Your Grace, I didn't mean to- »

« It's okay, Your Majesty, really. I appreciate your concern, and greatly value your opinion, too. » Ruki said with a faint but warm smile. « I'm really grateful that we can count you as our ally now, despite everything. »

He sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a second, letting his head fall defeatedly, before straightening back and opening them again, shining with a newfound resolve, burning with a fierce will. 

« Okay, let's do this . »

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I already said, I can seem to be able to focus on writing lately, my mind always drifts away.(Besides, I have two new plots in mind for New stories, which added themselves to my already too long list of Things I Absolutely Have To Write, and they're calling for me so loud, I'm doing my best to keep them at bay!) I'd really like to know your opinion on this chapter, so yeah, leave a comment if you feel like it! take care!

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you feel like it, thanks for reading <3


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